Modus Operandi
by Of Broken Love
Summary: Uchiha Madara is a misogynistic playboy with a penchant for large breasted, curvy, airheaded women and no commitment whatsoever. It's a mystery as to why he's so attracted to Haruno Sakura, a young college student with a pretty face, average body, a brain to back up her sharp tongue...unless he's had a change in M.O. On Blog
1. The Idiot's Presentation

Hello my dear readers!

For all intents and purposes, this is a pure-smut two-or-three-shot that will not likely turn into anything more. I'm just feeling in a smutty mood right now.

Hope it's received well. Rape/non-con, the usual. Enjoy!

**WARNING: THIS STORY CONTAINS NON-CONSENSUAL SEX. If you are offended, kindly turn away.**

* * *

Apples and Oranges

Part One

"We're just too different, Ino," Sakura stated simply. "There's nothing that would attract him more to me than to you. We're just different."

Ino glared vehemently at her best friend. "Oh, really, Forehead? Then why does Sasuke-kun hang out more with you than with me?"

Sakura looked at Ino with innocent eyes, trying to pretend that she really had anything on the beautiful blonde, then frowned. "If you must know," she said glumly, no longer relishing her success at having spent more time with Uchiha Sasuke recently, "We've been assigned together as partners for tomorrow's mock-trial in Law & Economics. The only reason he agreed to be my partner is because I have the best grades in the class and his relative, some great-great uncle or something like that is coming to grade the class efforts. Whoever wins this contest gets an internship at the Senju and Uchiha law firm."

Ino just about glowed with glee at her friend's admission, but then quickly stopped herself in suspicion. "Who gets the job? Both of you?"

Sakura sighed wearily. "I don't know, Ino. I don't really care. You know my field is science, not law. I'm just helping a friend." _It's too bad that's all he is and all he ever will be._ She couldn't hide the look of disappointment on her face.

Ino, temporarily losing her triumphant expression, patted Sakura on the shoulder. "Hey. It just makes the playing field a bit more even, now that Sasuke-kun's spending more time with you. If he wasn't, he'd be spending all his time staring at me and you wouldn't get any attention at all."

Sakura bristled at the playful comment and Ino, seeing that her friend had risen to the bait, took off running with Sakura hot at her heels.

"I'm gonna kill you, Ino!"

* * *

It was a major headache, Uchiha Madara concluded, to even have considered going to his great-nephew's college for this ridiculous display of lack in court experience. However, Hashirama, who he begrudgingly respected, had told him it would be good for publicity and Tobirama had urged him to do so. Two always outvoted one, which was something Madara was learning to hate, and Madara hadn't exactly caved but told Hashirama that he required a week off in compensation. His firm partner had frowned, as it was a busy week that Madara had requested off, but with Madara threatening to pawn it off on a less-experienced intern, he had allowed for the deal to transpire.

Madara felt that his little victory hadn't exactly been hard won, so he had pushed for two weeks off from the exhausting labor, _and_ delegated his next case to the brothers. This had caused an uproar, which Madara had felt liberated to walk away from, knowing that being the kind people they were would quickly take the loss as part of a business endeavor. He wasn't exactly sure why they were so keen on the class visit—then again, student interns were good for the firm and this proved a way to weed out the incompetent ones.

He had gracefully pointed out to Hashirama, when this was all started and their flimsy reasoning brought up, that _all_ of the students might be incompetent and they would just be picking the smartest of the idiots.

Hashirama had scolded him for his insensitivity, but Madara had been unrepentant. Finally, Hashirama had given in, as long as Madara followed through with his part.

He'd scoffed. He was as reliable as they came and he knew it.

Frowning, Madara finished tying his tie and then headed for the black Lamborghini, which was parked and running in the driveway thanks to his brother, who had ordered it ahead of time. Blind as he was due to a terrible car accident, Izuna had decided that taking care of his older brother was a better pastime than reading brail and he wanted to prove his worth so that Madara would never send him to an assisted living home. Madara knew Izuna was insecure since the accident, but he also knew that he would never send Izuna to one of those decrepit places. No, Izuna belonged in the Uchiha compound, not with commoners.

"Good-bye, aniki," Izuna called, hearing Madara exit the mansion.

"Good-bye, Izuna."

Madara frowned, his mood sour as he got in the car and pulled out of the driveway to head to the college. It was a smaller college for upper high school. Most of the students there would be at least eighteen, so at least he wouldn't have to worry about any _incredible_ amounts of annoying immaturity.

Frown deepening, his thoughts darkened as he remembered that he'd forgotten to call Suzuki Miya for a visit after this 'business endeavor,' as Tobirama had cheerfully put it. Stress tended to put Madara in a highly sexual mood. From his traditional upbringing in the Uchiha compound, he had learned a sort of misogyny from an early age. Women were utensils—delicate, beautiful utensils to perform specific tasks.

In most cultures these days, it wasn't so—women went to work and raised a family at the same time. But Madara preferred the docile woman, who would cook and clean, wait on him hand and foot and please him whenever he was in the mood. Suzuki Miya was one of these women, but she was sadly too old for his tastes and at the relatively young age of thirty-nine, he felt he should still have time in choosing a wife and preferably one that was young. Miya was forty-four and while it wasn't outright obvious, her age would show soon enough and then he'd be stuck with an ugly old gold-digger for a life partner, and that was not what he was searching for.

No, his playtime was not over yet. But Miya did give good massages and had plenty of experience in bed, so she suited for a quick fuck well enough.

Nonetheless, Miya usually required a day's advance because she had a niece who she often took care of and the older woman was very devoted to children. Another thing he didn't like, want or need—children. He was almost positive Miya would be hell-bent on having one with him come the opportunity.

She was too old, though, he comforted himself. Menopause would start soon, and then she wouldn't be able to get pregnant and they could lose the stupid condom.

Then again, would he even want to sleep with a woman that old?

Glancing at his GPS, Madara found he was just about at the college. Inhaling deeply, he mentally prepared himself to choose the best dunce out of all of them and then be on his merry way.

_Good fucking riddance._

* * *

Sakura couldn't help but feel nervous. They were in a larger classroom designated for things such as this. She frowned, glanced as Sasuke, who looked at her expectantly. She handed him his portion of the project. While she had easily worked harder on it than he had, she was happy to let him bask in the glory of her work. She was busy enough—this would keep Sasuke happy, hopefully get her brownie points and she'd _definitely_ get a good grade. Sakura had kicked ass at this project, she knew, and was happy to show it in a presentation.

The class waited patiently for Uchiha Madara to arrive, the relative Sasuke spoke so highly of. Sakura, despite her attraction to Sasuke, had learned a long time ago that men loved their bravado and from the way Sasuke talked about Madara based on his one-on-one conversations with the man, Madara _simply adored_ his bravado.

Sakura rested her head in her hands impatiently. She had other homework, damnit, which she'd skimped on to help Sasuke with this project! She could feel the headache coming on. She still had chemistry, precalculus, _a research paper_…

"Sakura," Sasuke said, nudging her. It was almost directly after the door to the classroom opened. "He's here. Look a little more excited."

Sakura shot Sasuke a _you're_-telling-_me-_to-look-excited glare before glancing at the front of the classroom.

And rolled her eyes.

He was handsome, alright, flawlessly so. Signature Uchiha, right there—he could have been the clan's trademark, with his long black hair and inky black eyes. He was tall, older, well-built in that he obviously cared about his looks, and yet overall Sakura found him only marginally attractive.

It might have had to do with the fact that Sasuke sat right next to her and she was still too in love with him to really care about anyone else, or perhaps it concerned her that the man was very nearly, if not already in his forties, and she had no interest in lusting after someone over twice her age.

_Gross,_ was her immediate thought. She watched Madara's eyes travel across the room, calculating, assessing, determining something. With her observant nature she noted how his eyes lingered on some of the more attractive females in the room—Midori Saya and Kuchiki Izori, to name the most sought-after.

Sakura noticed with slight disgust that the older girls were eyeing him right back.

Her eyes shifted from Izori's face and she immediately found him looking directly at her. She froze like a deer in the headlights and somehow she knew that he knew she'd been watching him.

Madara smirked fractionally before his eyes shifted from her and he continued his assessment of the classroom.

For some reason the way he'd looked at her made her very uncomfortable. It wasn't the smirk, although that certainly hadn't helped, so much as how deep his eyes were. There were fathoms of knowledge behind them, and for a second, Sakura just wanted to pry open his brain and drain all the wisdom out of him.

She mentally slapped herself. _Now is not the time for knowledge-lust_, she corrected herself. Nodding minutely to herself so that no one could see, she steeled herself into forgetting about Madara and focusing on the project—er, case—at hand.

"Hyuuga Neji and Hyuuga Hinata, please come forth to present your case."

Sakura distracted herself by looking on at the spectacle before her as her acquaintances Neji and Hinata took the stage.

* * *

It was half-time—the students were on break, as this class was taking up a double-period—and Madara was already exhausted.

He had been mostly right about his suspicions. Other than his great-nephew Sasuke and his partner, Haruno Sakura, the entire thing had been an absolute bore. He hadn't been aware that Sasuke knew so much about the forensics of the pseudo-case. When he'd concluded that the killer's M.O. hadn't actually been the knife but the poison, Madara had actually been impressed. It would have normally been a difficult case to solve, but knowing the killer's M.O. had made the 'questioning' easier and more fruitful when exercised.

Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Sasuke and the girl, Sakura, arguing vehemently about something. The girl was getting red in the face and looked about to murder and Sasuke actually looked perturbed. Knowing his great-nephew, Sasuke getting riled up about something wasn't a frequent occurrence and Madara found himself interested in knowing what they were talking about. Madara began to approach them quietly, knowing that the moment he registered in sight Sasuke would clean up his act to impress him.

"You presented it _all wrong_," Sakura reprimanded, folding her arms over her chest. "You even said the poison's name wrong. You're lucky nobody noticed."

Madara smirked and paused. What was this?

"It's not my fault you handed me the hardest part of the case," Sasuke snapped, uncharacteristically showing anger. "How am I supposed to know those damned Latin phrases?"

Sakura snorted. "Like modus operandi? Look, Sasuke-kun, this is a BIG world we live in. It has BIG, non-Japanese words!" Her eyes comically widened as she mocked him. "Ooh, look, I've never see anything as big as planet Earth!" She pointed at the sky, making her point.

Madara chuckled to himself, not happy that Sasuke had obviously not done much of the work, but certainly amused by Sakura's harsh teasing. He watched them, from afar, and took note of Sakura with new interest. He'd caught her staring at him earlier, so he was almost certain she was interested in him, but as she had a less-than-ample chest and he was certainly an admirer of large breasts, he had overlooked her. Now she struck him in a new light.

Outweighing the factor of large breasts, he found himself interested in the little spitfire that she was…

"Sakura, seriously. Cut it out."

When Sasuke looked actually hurt, Sakura softened. "I'm sorry, Sasuke-kun. I just wanted to make sure you got the big part so you could impress—"

"Hello, Sasuke-kun," Madara decided to greet casually, as though he hadn't heard the entire conversation. He pretended not to notice Sakura, curious as to what her reaction at being ignored by him was.

"Hello, Madara-sama," Sasuke said politely. When Sakura said nothing, Madara glanced in her direction, secretly disappointed. She should have at least _tried_ to say something. He wanted to see more of her personality—not only was it an amusing pastime, but for some reason, despite his innate dislike for all things feminist, her strong character found appreciation somewhere within him.

However, Sakura was looking at Sasuke. When she felt Madara's eyes on her for the split second, she looked up quickly to meet his gaze, silently letting him know that she knew he was there.

And that she didn't care.

Madara's face quirked into a frown but he turned back to Sasuke, who had begun talking. Once Madara responded to Sasuke, Sakura left, apparently seeing one of her friends from another class.

Nodding at Sasuke even though he was distracted by thoughts of Sakura, Madara tried to focus on his great-nephew. When he found himself glance in Sakura's direction, where she was speaking angrily with a tall, buxom, _very attractive_ blonde, he realized that he was interested in her.

It irritated him, to say the least. When he'd been thinking about young earlier, he'd meant more so in the mid-to-late twenties range. Not barely twenty, if even that.

Strangely enough, that didn't seem to bother him as much as it should have.

* * *

"I'm sorry, Ino, but Sasuke-kun's probably gay for his uncle or whatever," Sakura spat. "He's absolutely obsessed with getting on his good side, and when I corrected him on his mistakes in the case presentation, he got all pissy and defensive!"

Ino frowned, disturbed by the news, but replied anyway, "Well, you _were_ kind of reaming him out. I saw a little bit of it."

Sakura deflated. "I guess. But seriously. I think he's into his uncle." This caused Sakura to laugh, somewhat forced but when Ino laughed as well, the humor in it became real.

"I don't know, Sakura," Ino said after they'd finished laughing. "It doesn't seem like Sasuke-kun's like that…"

"He _does_ have the girly hair though. How on earth does he get it like that?"

"It's _natural_." The response was decidedly male.

Sakura, who had her back to the owner of the voice, froze, and seeing Ino's look of despair and anger, knew exactly who it was.

Turning around slowly, Sakura couldn't stop herself from wincing. It was Sasuke, just as the voice had portrayed, Madara standing a few feet behind him.

"Do you have anything else to say about me behind my back?"

Sakura cringed at the anger in his voice. Ino would probably slink away soon and let her face the brunt of whatever was coming next, but surprisingly enough, the blonde stood up for her.

"It's not behind your back anymore, so no."

Sakura's eyes widened comically at Ino's careless remark. Didn't she care about Sasuke's affection? This would be a moot contest if…

And then she noticed Ino eyeing Madara.

_What. The. Hell._

He was _not_ that attractive! Then again, Ino typically went for older guys, but seriously? This one? He was Sasuke's relative _and_ a _great-uncle._ The 'great' part of the phrase came because he was old!

Sakura took a deep breath, readying herself to say something, when Madara spoke.

"While that may be true, I believe an apology is at hand." He glanced at Sakura.

Sakura raised an eyebrow skeptically. He was going to command her to apologize?

_No way in hell._

But then again, as he was technically her superior and she had already acted meanly enough, she supposed she didn't really have a choice. A frown marring her features, Sakura ground out reluctantly, "I'm sorry, Sasuke-kun."

Sasuke said nothing back and turned to Madara. "Can we go now? I told you, girls are nothing but trouble."

Ino gasped in indignation while Sakura snorted. She turned to Ino. "Guess who was right?"

The blonde nodded at Sakura before shrugging. "Yeah, I suppose you were. Hey, I got class in like a minute, so I'll see you later, okay? Call me."

Sakura waved, pointedly ignoring the two men who hadn't left yet.

A cell phone went off and not recognizing it as her ring tone or Sasuke's, she knew from its proximity that it had to be Madara's. She sighed, glanced at Sasuke, who wasn't paying any attention to her, and then began to walk away.

"Sakura-san, wait."

It was Madara. She stiffened, pausing in her gait politely. She kept trying to instill in herself that she needed to be respectful to this man, even though he didn't really command any from her naturally. Senju and Uchiha, Inc. was a well-established firm and making any enemies in the business world wasn't very high on her to-do list.

She turned around when Madara said nothing in her direction, instead answering his phone. She averted her eyes but frowned, trying to remain patient. Today had been _bad_ and she was looking forward to going home and falling asleep, homework be damned. All she had to do was sit through the rest of the mock-trials and then she was free to go. This was her last class of the day and it was Friday. She could do whatever the hell she liked.

Annoyed with waiting when the conversation seemed to continue on, she began to walk back to the classroom. This was prompted by noticing that Sasuke had already left to go back as well. Madara, however, caught her on her shoulder as she passed him, causing her to whirl around angrily.

He was just finishing up the conversation, it seemed, now that she had decided to leave. He hung up the phone casually, as though he hadn't been incredibly impolite, and then pinned her with his eyes in such a way that made Sakura's skin crawl.

"You did well with figuring out the modus operandi of the criminal," he said lightly.

Sakura nodded slowly, not understanding why this was important.

He continued. "It was also admirable that you gave the credit to Sasuke. Why did you do that?" He seemed genuinely curious, which softened Sakura's attitude slightly. It had definitely alienated him from her when he had forced her to apologize to Sasuke, but the for some reason the fact that he was petting her ego was lessening the alienation.

Still, she was hesitant to respond too honestly. "I'm getting the best grades in the class. Sasuke needed the help, so I figured it would benefit both of us if he got the bigger part. I did a lot of the work behind the scenes," she finished sweetly.

"So it had nothing to do with my presence?"

Sakura frowned. How had he known? He had to be awfully perceptive to figure that out…

She remembered her and Sasuke's conversation earlier, and how he'd interrupted her speech.

That sneaky, eavesdropping, conniving little…!

Smiling saccharinely, Sakura shook her head. "No. Sasuke-kun likes you a lot, but it had nothing to do with you being there."

She made the brave gesture of looking him in the eye. They were seemingly all-knowing, as she saw how he frowned when they both knew that she had lied to him. As they made and held eye contact, Sakura suddenly felt intimidated. This man was _way_ older than her. She shouldn't be disrespecting him the way she was. The way his eyes pierced her, searching for something, made Sakura extremely uncomfortable.

When what felt like several centuries had passed, Sakura finally broke. "Well, I'll see you in class," she said shakily, averting her eyes. She opened her palm to wave and found that her hands were sweaty. Swallowing hard, Sakura continued on to the classroom, feeling his eyes on her back the entire time.


	2. The Contract

Apples and Oranges

Part Two

Madara wouldn't lie and say that he hadn't been somewhat annoyed when Sakura had blatantly lied to him. However, the small but irritatingly persistent part of him that had become attracted to her kept flaring up, putting thoughts in his head about how much fun it would be if she were being her fiery little self _in bed, _only for him to tame her, force her to do as he commanded, perhaps with a little oral stimulation or…

He frowned as his cock twitched. Madara was really, _really_ regretting not calling Miya the night before. There was no way Sakura would willingly let him spend his sexual frustrations on her. He was smart enough to realize that Sakura hadn't been staring at him out of interest earlier; she had merely been observing him the way he had observed the class. Such maturity and insight on her part was also attractive. Not many girls her age or even women much older than her were calm enough to be perceptive like she was.

He shook his head to clear away the thoughts before proceeding back into the classroom, a few minutes late. However, it was his prerogative and he didn't really care if the teacher got annoyed with him. To be frank, he knew he was too powerful for the teacher to not respect him and even more frankly, he didn't really give a damn about this class or what the result of it would be. He would just choose Sasuke to work at the firm, as had pretty much been predetermined when he'd found out about Sasuke's presence in the class, and leave the politics of it to Hashirama and Tobirama. There was no reason at all to deal with this anymore.

Of course, it meant he'd never see Sakura again, which, like the entire situation, bothered him more than it should have. He felt rather cheated that he'd met a female he was actually interested in and who was also someone he would never see again.

As the next pair for the mock-trial went up to the front, Madara settled his eyes on the two students but let his mind wander. He didn't even pay attention to their names—they were unimportant at this point.

Inwardly he sighed, frustrated that this little pink-haired girl with stunning green eyes was getting to him so much. He'd known her less than four hours and she'd already weaseled her way into his mind. He couldn't stop thinking about her, couldn't stop _fantasizing_ about what he'd do to her petite body. He couldn't bring himself to care that she wasn't as developed as he would have liked, even though her friend had been—and in all the right places, as well. No, that was insignificant.

If he hadn't been so fond of his regally long black hair, Madara would have started tearing at it. This wasn't right—not that he cared much for social politics—but he, as Uchiha Madara, was not supposed to be susceptible to women. They were to come to him, not the other way around.

This was beyond ridiculous.

As he sat there stewing, a storm raging behind his eyes, he glanced at Sakura and found she was staring at him. An inner part of him leaped and he immediately quashed it, but as they made eye contact briefly until she deemed it suitable to turn away, Madara felt his attraction growing. She was so irresistibly intelligent. Instead of averting her eyes immediately, which would show guilt, she held his gaze for several seconds before 'deciding' that she'd looked at him long enough. He could tell that she was still afraid of him, as her eyes had suggested earlier, and so her intelligence was reflected in that she knew how to hide her fear by pretending that she was in charge. He smirked at the thought. She might not have been interested in him sexually, but she was curious and already trying to win the very real power struggles going on between them.

It was then that he suddenly came up with a brash decision that he was uncannily steadfast in. She was curious about him—which meant that she had _some kind_ of emotion or agenda. He doubted it was an agenda, as she seemed rather innocent in the ways of scheming, so she _felt_ something concerning him.

She was young and impressionable. His influence could go a long ways into making her truly an adult woman…perhaps one that he would be interested for long-term—

At this thought, he thought to excuse himself so he could splash cold water onto his face. He was moving _awfully fast_ for a male. He soothed his rioting mind by telling himself that he was at the time in his life where people typically had already started their families and perhaps a part of him was curious about that, so finding someone he was interested in—he grit his teeth at the thought—genuinely had sparked a flurry of thoughts that he'd had a hard time controlling.

These were not emotions he was feeling, they were simply thoughts. Thoughts that could _go away forever _and he would not complain.

He went back to his previous train of thought. He would choose her over Sasuke for the internship. No, Fugaku would not be happy, but he had valid reason to choose Sakura over Sasuke, the very beginning of which was to ask Sasuke to pronounce 'modus operandi.' Sakura had a valid point in her argument, one that he would now use against her.

He was sure that she wasn't incredibly interested in the role of intern at Senju and Uchiha, Inc. But he had found over the years that he knew how to be incredibly convincing…

And besides, curiosity had a habit of killing cats—and other unfortunate individuals who succumbed to it.

Weaving his fingers together, Madara rested his head on his hands, unable to stop himself from feeling rather accomplished.

* * *

While his face hadn't changed in expression once the entire time she had observed him, Sakura had been able to see a veritable war being raged behind Madara's eyes.

She wasn't sure what he was at war with himself about, but she was absolutely positive it didn't concern her so she decided not to care.

The final presentation was finished and their teacher, Umino-sensei, and Madara both stood at the same time. It looked coordinated but as Iruka looked at his superior in shock, Madara was undisturbed by the fact that he was leaving early.

Iruka scrambled to say, "Thank you everyone! Uchiha-sama will be sending the selected student an e-mail concerning the internship, so—"

"I will speak to the selected student after class is dismissed," Madara interrupted him, acting completely oblivious to his impoliteness. Sakura scoffed. From what she'd observed, this Uchiha Madara was much more aware that he let on—and there was no mistaking Uchiha Madara for being unaware. "Umino-san, are there any empty classrooms I may use to brief the student on the internship?"

Iruka nodded quickly. "Yes, Uchiha-sama. Room 41A should be empty until about 3PM."

Madara glanced at the clock. Sakura couldn't stop herself from watching him. Despite the fact that she couldn't help but be a little intimidated by him, he fascinated her.

"That gives us about fifteen minutes." He sighed, sounding exasperated. "Alright. Haruno Sakura, please come with me."

Sakura was shell-shocked, not standing up even after a minute of the results being announced. While she had been admittedly fascinated by Uchiha Madara, it hadn't been in a let-me-see-you-every-day sense. In fact, if she had seen him on the street corner after school she wouldn't have even given him a second glance.

Then there was the fact that Sasuke was glaring daggers at her, along with the hostile stares of a couple of other students who had wanted the position.

"What the hell did you and him talk about in the hallway?" Sasuke demanded quietly. Sakura blanched.

"I don't—"

"Haruno-san," she noticed he didn't call her by her first name publicly, "I'm waiting." This was true. Madara was already standing by the doorway, holding it open.

Iruka looked disgruntled. "Uchiha-sama, the other students weren't supposed to know the results. I don't want there to be any resentment in my—"

Madara shot Iruka a derisive look that said, 'shut up. I don't give a damn.'

"Uchiha-sama," Sakura said, standing and bowing apologetically. "I don't think my schedule allows for—"

One look into Madara's calm eyes, apathetic to her case and growing ever more impatient, Sakura closed her eyes, prayed for patience and then collected her things. She would explain things to him after they left class. No need to cause a scene.

_I'll fix this,_ she mouthed to Sasuke before she left. He rolled his eyes fractionally before turning his attention to Iruka, who was already beginning to lecture on the differences between healthy and unhealthy competition.

Sakura exhaled hard, thanking Madara quietly as she passed through the door he was holding open for her, and then flinched in her step at how loud the door had slammed behind them.

* * *

They arrived in 41A. Madara sat down at one of the desks and motioned for Sakura to sit next to him. Hesitantly, she placed her backpack down on the ground and then sat.

Before she could open her mouth to make excuses for why she couldn't work as an intern, he cut her off.

"If you don't take this offer, no one in your class will." His tone was harsh at first, but then softened into a more advice-giving tone. "It pays well and you have flexible hours, being a student. You'd be an idiot to pass up this opportunity."

Sakura was looking at him hard, obviously offended by the harshness of his tone and then the fact that he was implying she was an idiot, because she had already expressed that _didn't_ intend to take this job offer. She already had too little spare time.

"Uchiha-sama—"

"Madara," he corrected.

"Madara-sama," she continued politely, seeming a little wary at the name change. "I really don't have the spare time to do this." Sakura looked relieved that she'd actually gotten a full sentence out, but not for long. As soon as she opened her mouth again, Madara spoke once more.

"¥1700 per hour."

Sakura's mouth, which had been previously open, now gaped.

"You will also have paid sick days and benefits," he continued. No, this hadn't been a part of the deal—initially the student was to work for free, but Madara had just agreed to pay her over double Japan's minimum wage.

He didn't care. This was personal now, and when he wanted something, he would get it. Besides, she'd be working for him as a personal secretary—but he wouldn't mention that until she accepted. He knew that with pay like that, she'd eventually put school to the back of her mind and be coming to work more and more often. He'd sate himself of her. Madara knew—hoped—that eventually, he'd solve the problem that was Sakura and then he could drop her like he was going to drop Miya someday. Women were fleeting, just like the pleasure that an orgasm brought.

That's why it was important to have many.

* * *

Sakura tried to grasp the number he'd just put in her head. She was 19 years old, almost twenty and she'd be working for _¥1700_.

Unbelievable.

Nonetheless, she knew it was obvious her will to say no was breaking. Sakura's parents had never been extremely well-off, so the prospect of having some spending money was almost inconceivable.

_Finally, she'd be able to keep up with Ino on shopping trips!_

That was the thought that sealed it, but of course she was weighing college tuition as well in her mind. The University of Tokyo would be a viable option if she was able to juggle school and work appropriately, and—

"Sakura-san, are you going to keep me here all day?"

Despite Madara's rudeness, he was smirking and it was obvious he knew she'd been swayed.

"I suppose I can't really turn an offer like that down," Sakura admitted. "It has to be part-time though. I can't miss school."

She couldn't read Madara mind, but she could see he was triumphant…about something. She couldn't tell what, but she found herself just a little too curious.

"Very well. Write down your e-mail address so I can send you your schedule. Your phone number as well, so that we can contact you."

"Home or cell?" she asked, but felt it was dumb. Of course she'd give him her house phone, so she began to scribble down her family landline.

"Cell," he said wearily, as though it was the most obvious thing in the world. Feeling even dumber, she hastily erased the home number and scribbled down her cell phone number.

After all was said and done and they were about to head out, Sakura couldn't help but ask warily, "Can I ask you a question?"

Madara glanced at her from the corner of his eye as they left the classroom, just as several students were lining up against the outside wall, his expression unreadable. Even his eyes were masked. "Yes."

"Why did you choose me? I mean, there are students a lot more interested in this than—"

"I only accept top-notch work, Sakura-san, and those who are team players. You will do fine at the firm. Sasuke is interested in the job—and the profession—for the money and especially the glory. You are not."

With that, Madara stepped away from her and they parted ways, her mouth hanging open.

* * *

It was early Monday morning and Sakura was awake at 5:30AM and out the door by six, fully dressed and on her way to get coffee in the worst mood imaginable.

Monday wasn't even a _school day_ for her. So where was she going?

Work.

Madara had sent her an e-mail—a very distant, professional e-mail simply asking her about her school schedule—that was received by her inbox no more than fifteen minutes before she got home. As soon as she was home and it was marked as read, Sakura couldn't help but feel that she was obligated to respond.

So she had, attaching a digital copy of her school schedule.

She had thought it was harmless to respond so quickly—helpful, even, because it would prepare her for whenever work started.

Sakura hadn't, however, planned on Madara responding not even half an hour later to give her a semi-permanent work schedule for the next month. She hadn't needed to do any math or calculations to realize that her social life had just gotten a lot less existent. She would have sent him back an email telling him that working every day except weekends and after school on days that she had it would be a problem, but…

The paycheck at the end of the month was a little too tempting.

Sakura was not greedy by any definition of the word, but seeing the secondary attached document that showed, in hard math, her income at the end of the month _with_ taxes taken out, she decided she could try it, so she'd agreed to give the first week a try.

She already hated herself _and _her decision.

Gripping her hot drink with way too much caffeine packed into its whole sixteen ounces, Sakura made her way to the front desk of Senju and Uchiha, Inc., where an overly-cheerful woman was sitting behind the front desk.

Sakura handed the woman—Takamura Risa, her nametag read—the paperwork Madara had sent her to sign and show to this very woman. Risa skimmed over the signed documents and then nodded decisively.

"Alright, Haruno-san, I'll get you a temporary badge until yours is made. You're going to be heading up to Floor 12. Uchiha-sama's office is 12C. He should already be up there. Thank Kami," Risa said, a cheerful smile finding its way onto her face. "I hope you're good, Haruno-san. Uchiha-sama's needed some…assistance with file cabinet." She winked and he voice lowered, "He's good about it, I suppose, but there's nothing a woman's touch won't help."

Sakura hesitated, this entire situation feeling off. She'd read over the job description the night before, trying to mentally prepare herself for her first day on the job. It had said many things about what she'd be doing…but cleaning up Uchiha Madara's files wasn't one of them.

In fact, interacting at all with him after the mock-trial hadn't been one of them. Umino-sensei had warned the entire class that once the student was hired, they were most likely not going to see the person who had hired them, as Uchiha Madara was a very high-up individual.

She had understood at first that seeing him to check in was probably going to happen—but Risa implying that she would be working with—or at least in his presence—caught her off guard.

"Sorry, uh, Takamura-san?"

Risa nodded her head politely, motioning for Sakura to continue.

"So, I was, uh, supposed to be the student intern from Koei College. It didn't say anything on the description that I'd be doing much administrative work."

Risa frowned, then glanced over the papers Sakura had signed the night before. Sakura waited patiently for her answer, but didn't like it when she received a question to her question. "You didn't read the contract before you filled it out?"

Sakura furrowed her brow, feeling stupid. "I skimmed it," she said quietly. It was true, she had, but a lot of the words she hadn't understood, and she really hadn't thought it to be that important.

"It says you're to be Uchiha-sama's personal secretary," Risa said pointedly. "It's also very binding for a student internship." She frowned.

"And what exactly do you mean by that?" Sakura asked, suddenly feeling extremely nervous about this whole situation.

"You're contracted for six months minimum, no loopholes," Risa said, looking at Sakura skeptically.

Sakura's mouth just about flew open, deeming it obvious that she really hadn't read it very thoroughly.

_"What!"_

"You should probably go talk to your boss," Risa said, frowning. Sakura couldn't tell if Risa was judging her poorly or uncertain about the implications of the document she held in her hands.

Sakura nodded, eyes hardening but not reflecting what was going on inside her head. She was terrified.

What the fuck had she gotten herself into?

* * *

So this is turning into a little bit more of a story than a one-shot. No promises yet, but I think this may be continued beyond what I had originally planned!

Cheers!

~Of Broken Love~


	3. The War is Waged

**So, this is no longer a two or three shot. I'm making it a full story since I like it so much. Here's the next chapter. :)**

* * *

Madara had expected Sakura at around 7:15 or so, as she was still a student and her schedule indicated that she probably wouldn't be able to handle waking up and being there by 6:30. So when his pink-haired beauty stormed through his door—without knocking, he noticed with a smirk—at 6:36, he was pleasantly surprised.

He deduced almost immediately that Sakura hadn't read the paperwork all the way through, as he'd expected she wouldn't, and that someone had most definitely informed her about what the paper had exactly said instead of what'd she naively assumed it had said.

Sakura took a deep, steadying breath, which seemed to calm her a bit. "I think you gave me the wrong paperwork to sign," she said, her voice shaking—whether with fear or with anger he wasn't quite able to discern.

"I don't believe I did," Madara said, his smirk widening at her trembling visage.

Sakura's eyes hardened. "You must have. It says nothing about being an intern, according to Takamura-san, and that I'm contracted for six months to work with _you_—and _no loopholes._"

Madara raised an eyebrow with mock concern. "You didn't read it all the way through?"

Sakura blushed, but her eyes didn't lose their hard edge. "Well, to be honest, I tried…the words were really complex and I wasn't exactly familiar with a lot of the kanji, so I guessed that it was alright." When Madara continued to look at her skeptically, much like Risa had, she frowned. "Look, I was a little pressed for time, alright? I had lots of schoolwork thanks to Sasuke-kun and his botched attempt at getting this internship."

"Job," Madara corrected, his smirk never wavering.

Sakura frowned even more deeply. "You knew what it said," she deadpanned.

At this, Madara's eyes flashed, pleased. "I wrote it myself."

Her mouth hung open as she took in the implication of what he'd said. He could see the gears working at full speed, her mind trying to wrap itself around the situation. Her jaw worked for a few seconds without any words coming out before her expression took a turn for the worse and she surged forward, slamming her palms on the table. It was obvious she'd lost control of her temper.

"What game are you playing, _Uchiha-sama?_" she hissed.

"Madara," he corrected, unwavering. His eyes fastened on hers and she had no problem at first maintaining eye contact, but as their staring contest continued, she soon began to struggle to keep a firm grip on her temper and not let fear take over. He could see it behind her eyes' hard glint; she was terrified of whatever game he was playing.

And what a glorious game it was.

Finally she slumped, anger exhausted and fear taking over. She averted her eyes and sat down in the chair she had forgone when she'd rushed by it to confront him.

"Can't you just revoke the contract?" she asked, her tone desperate. "This wasn't what I signed up for."

"Yes, actually, it is," Madara replied calmly, his eyes never leaving her heart-shaped face. He drank in every aspect of it: her cute, feminine nose, her pale pink lips, her round cheeks that perfectly accentuated the look in her fearful jade eyes.

Yes, she was certainly a beauty. Her body, while perhaps lacking compared to his other women, was not at all lacking in his eyes. It was something he found himself mildly surprised at—he could sometimes forgo a less-than-perfect face if the body was superb, at least for a night. But with Sakura, she seemed to have the opposite effect. While she was by no means flat or a stick, her curves were gentler than his usual type and her chest could be no more than a B, perhaps a small C. Nonetheless, he found her beautiful.

Funnily enough, he couldn't remember thinking that about a woman, ever. Sure—hot, sexy, attractive, gorgeous—all on the list.

But beautiful? It usually held too much sentimental connotation for him to describe a female with it. However, Sakura seemed to have no problem taking that title.

"When are you going to stop staring?" Sakura bit out, her face flushed.

Madara simply nodded and let his eyes subtly undress her body while saying, "Whenever I feel like it."

"I don't know what's going on in your dirty, perverted mind, but don't think it will ever have anything to do with me."

Madara finally glanced up at her eyes, more than a little surprised by her outburst. He raised his eyebrow questioningly.

Sakura scoffed, and he could tell that she was feeling more comfortable now that she thought she had the upper hand. "You think people don't know about you? You, the head of the famous Uchiha clan, wouldn't have rumors spread like wildfire every time you slept with a woman? Which, given your playboy status and the fact that you're _old,_" she spat this and he frowned at her disapprovingly, "would mean that your count can't be under two hundred. Tell me, Uchiha-sama, how many people does it take to get an STD from?"

He was silent, but by no means beaten. It was really quite interesting to listen to her tirade.

"It takes one," she informed him, with some misguided sense of condescendence. "And in Japan, AIDS is at an all-time high. Did you know that? You're probably HIV positive, so I would recommend getting tested.

"And with that said, I want you to take me off your payroll so I can get out of this office and _never come back._"

Madara began to laugh, a genuine laugh that flustered and shocked Sakura simultaneously. He took his time recovering, letting her take in the fact that he found her thoughts on the entire matter humorous.

"Something funny?" Sakura finally asked, her voice venomous. However, Madara could tell that he'd rattled her by dismissing her with his amusement.

"It's somewhat comical to me, Sakura dear, that you believe everything you read in the celebrity newspapers," he began, his eyes never hardening. He wanted to show her how little he cared for her opinion.

Sakura reddened at his implication of her enjoying gossip, but he raised his hand, stopping her from speaking.

"You were allowed to speak freely, so I'm afraid I must be allowed to do the same." He smirked at her and continued. "Since you are so obviously convinced that I'm what you say I am, I won't try to convince you otherwise." She seemed to be annoyed at this, as her brow furrowed. Perhaps she had hoped he would try to prove her wrong—unfortunately, it wasn't going to happen. "However, I will let you know that I am, actually, HIV negative." He felt this was important to tell her, given that she was going to be involved with him sexually, whether she knew it or not. "And, clean of everything else you might hope to not find on the male anatomy."

Sakura sniffed and turned her head. "Good for you."

Madara smirked, continuing further. "I might also add that as I wrote the contract, I have disallowed _any _and _all _loopholes. Including ones I myself can create."

Sakura paled, all the blood draining from her face. "You _what?_"

"It's binding, my dear. You signed it." He smirked. "I can't even fire you, even if I wanted to."

She looked like she was about to be sick. "You're kidding," she said weakly.

"That being said, I would be a little more careful of how you speak to your employers in the future." At the gloating expression on his face, Sakura felt tears gather in her eyes.

"I need to excuse myself." She stood shakily, her body trembling.

Madara nodded, looking back down at the papers in front of him. While he was loathe to dismiss her, he knew that she was going to go cry in the bathroom. _Good_, he thought to himself. _Less tears for later._

* * *

Sakura stared at her blotchy red face in the mirror of the ornate bathroom. She wasn't a pretty crier, just like the rest of the human race, and so she had really and truly needed to excuse herself when she had been about to burst into tears.

She wondered, in her defeat, if Madara had ever cried in his entire life. _No,_ she reminded herself, _he just likes to make other people cry._

Her best—and only—option was to suck it up and try to survive the next six months.

_Oh god. Six whole months. Half a fucking year._

At least that meant her paycheck couldn't be reduced, or at least she really and truly hoped not. Obviously it couldn't go under minimum wage, but she'd agreed to the job for the money anyhow.

She regretted it so badly. Now she knew why he'd made the offer so tempting—he wasn't planning on letting her out of it once she agreed.

Sakura wasn't sure exactly how deep she was in, but she knew that whatever game Madara was playing was well beyond her league and her years. Whatever he was aiming for was bad and it needed to be avoided.

So the only she thing could do was try to survive it, evade whatever tactics he imposed on her, and then pray that the job was over sooner rather than later.

Heaving a sigh, she swallowed the lump in her throat and exited the bathroom.

The walk down the hallway back to his office was the longest walk of shame she'd ever endured. She couldn't believe she'd been so naïve as to trust Madara. Uchiha Madara, the man who could spin a lie so many ways you would be certain it was the truth by the end of it, even if you knew it was false. Sakura hung her head in shame and quietly opened the door to his office, not bothering to knock. If passive-aggressiveness would make him miserable, good.

He deserved it.

Madara didn't pay attention to her at first, instead continuing to work on whatever paperwork he'd assigned himself. Sakura sat back down on the seat from which she had left to go cry, frowning with annoyance at the fact that he hadn't given any sign that told her he noticed she had arrived. However, as he wasn't assigning her any work, she took the liberty to simply sit there, more or less twiddling her thumbs. If he didn't direct her, she certainly wasn't going to direct herself.

It was a beautiful thing, this passive-aggression. He would really regret hiring her.

"You know, you may not want this job position, but you'll be required to use me as a referral when you apply to future jobs as you have no other job experience. That said, I would recommend you ask me what you can do."

Madara didn't once look up from his paperwork, but his words were clear. _Help, or else._ Sakura sat for a moment more, feeling weak. This was just too horrible. It was so horrible it almost made it feel like a nightmare, but definitely not reality.

Wearily, Sakura stood and went over to a file cabinet that looked much like Risa had described when they spoke. Pulling open one of the unlocked drawers, as a few were locked with a combination and key. Just as she opened the drawer, Madara spoke up.

"I told you to _ask me_ what to do," he said firmly, still not looking up from his work. It was like he had eyes in the back of his head.

Sakura glowered at him behind his back, not saying anything. She couldn't bring herself to listen to him. It was just too demeaning…he was on a power trip. He just wanted control.

Standing angrily, Sakura walked back over to the chair she'd now claimed as her own and decided that two could play at this game.

"If you want me to ask, why don't you acknowledge my presence first?"

She swore a smile ghosted over Madara's lips, but she couldn't be sure because he was still focusing on his paperwork. He still didn't look up from his paperwork, but said, "Sit there as long as you like." His voice was smug. "I'm sure your next employer will be very excited to hire you, given that you're belligerent, a control-freak, and constantly disrespect authority."

Her jaw dropped and her mouth gaped open. She couldn't really argue with belligerence, but control-freak? Disrespect authority? This was not going to go undefended.

"I'm not a control-freak," she said coldly. "And I only give authority to those who deserve it. In other words, not you. And belligerence? Quite frankly, somebody needs to put you in your place."

Madara finally looked up at her, the masked expression on his face frightening. "And you believe that yourself, a young, not even twenty-year-old _woman_, without higher education, with maybe two thousand yen to her name, who lives with her parents, and who wouldn't even have a job without the person she is try to 'put in his place,' should be the one to humble me? You, my dear, are extremely naïve and have no sense of place in this world. You would do well to go to an obedience school for women."

It occurred to her that he was definitely sexist. The Western feminine movement that was slowly making its way towards Japan obviously didn't impress him. But that wasn't what bothered her.

Despite her tough attitude and her angry face, Sakura had been cut deeply by his words. They were mostly true. She wasn't sure how he'd figured out two roughly thousand yen, but it was accurate. She only had eighteen hundred yen, given or take, and most of her expenses were covered by her parents still, even at nineteen. But didn't most nineteen year olds live with their parents? Maybe, maybe not. Ino lived with her parents, she knew Sasuke did, but her best male friend Naruto didn't have any parents to live with so he was on his own. Of course she didn't have higher education, she was nineteen. What he'd said was definitely kicking below the belt, because he was being scolding and condescending towards her mostly because of her age and the fact that she was a woman.

She wanted to make it clear to him that she didn't even want the job, but in her sensitive, wounded mind she knew that it would only prove his condescending words. Sakura couldn't even respond.

So another part of her took over. The strong, confident Sakura reacted and she was given a new perspective. As much as she hated it, Uchiha Madara was her boss. She couldn't disrespect him and she had to listen to him. This was her role, and as much as she regretted it she had gotten herself into this shit hole of a situation. She was going to be his personal assistant for the next six months. Looking at it as optimistically as she could, it would look really good on any resume if she could get on Madara's good side. If she performed well and did what he asked, it could benefit her. She would figure out the rest later, but she would swallow her pride now and be responsible. It occurred to her that her childhood was over and she had entered the working adult world.

She would just have to rise above his cold, cutting words and be a woman instead of a girl.

But that didn't mean she would give him what he really wanted by hiring her. She would be calm, cool, collected and most certainly professional. There would be no trivial conversation, no games, nothing. As long as it was job-related, she would accommodate him, no questions asked. She would be the best personal assistant ever, and she would live through the experience. Hardening herself and cutting off her angry, tumultuous emotions, Sakura rose to the occasion.

Straightening herself in her seat, she noticed Madara had gone back to his paperwork. Nodding inwardly, she asked as politely and professionally as she could, "Madara=sama, what would you like me to do?"

He paused in his work and looked up at her, smirking triumphantly. "Good, you've learned your place. I suppose I won't have to order you to go to obedience school after all."

Sakura nodded, not taking the bait to get angry, even though she seethed inside. "I'm glad you will be spared of that expense," she agreed meekly, although if it wouldn't have been illegal to pummel him to death with her fists, she would have.

Madara raised an eyebrow, but said nothing more for a good few minutes, simply staring at her. Knowing her place, she did not meet him in the eyes. He was her superior and she would treat him like it.

"You may get me coffee. Black, with two packets of sugar on the side."

Sakura nodded and stood. "Where would you like me to go?"

"There is a coffee shop on the corner. Ask Risa-san for my company credit card for the purchase. Anything you would like will come out of your paycheck."

She nodded in understanding. "I'm alright, Madara-sama. I'll get that for you now." She turned to leave.

Just as she reached the door, Madara spoke.

"It disappoints me, Sakura-chan, that you break so easily. I believed you were stronger than that."

Sakura ignored the back-handed compliment. "Some would say, Madara-sama, that strength is directly correlated with surviving. If I can survive working for you, I should think that death would no longer frighten me."

With that, she turned on her heel and left.

* * *

**I'm liking this new Sakura! Isn't she awesome?**


	4. The Time is Now

**Long chapter, and the chapter we've all been waiting for...the "lemon" scene. Now, for everyone who hasn't read the first chapter, although I'm not sure why you're here if you haven't, this will not be a lemon, really. It's a rape scene, and it must happen for the story to continue and evolve. If you don't like it, you shouldn't be reading this story. However, I will say it's not as graphic as some of my others, more focused on the emotions and thoughts involved rather than the actual act. Anyways, this is in caps for people who can't be asked to read an Author's Note. You will not miss this:**

**WARNING: THERE IS RAPE IN THIS CHAPTER.**

* * *

The past two weeks had passed by without a hitch since the first day. Sakura showed up whenever she could, fulfilling her duties meekly like the woman she was.

But Madara knew better, and it was beautiful sight to him.

Her countenance was professional and straightforward. She was responsible and attentive, and it occurred to him that she was actually a decent personal assistant that he might have chosen anyway under different circumstances, even if he hadn't wanted her for other reasons.

Given the reason he was attracted to Sakura—her fire—he might have grown bored of her and simply utilized her as his employee if he did not see beneath the surface. But he knew that her fire was still brightly burning inside her, just deeply buried.

And his attraction was only growing.

It was evident that while she was polite, professional, and all-around perfect in her demeanor, she was only putting up the façade to get by. Her words were like his often were; calm, but sharp. She would be honest, when he asked, but she would put it so kindly that it was almost like she didn't hate working for him. Sakura was stronger than he had given her credit for, even in the beginning when he'd initially seen her inner fire. He knew he'd said deeply insulting words to her, and for a second he'd actually thought she'd broken. But when she told him in her soft, professional voice and with a blank, emotionless face that she thought dying would be better than working for him, he knew she'd simply begun to wage a different war.

This spark, this life in her, was quickly turning his attraction into obsession. He wasn't sure quite how it was happening, but he'd started thinking of her daily since the first day. Since he'd met her, there wasn't a day without her in his thoughts, and it was more memorable to remember when he wasn't thinking about Sakura as opposed to when he was, as the latter was so often it was almost a constant.

It was Saturday. After the previous weekend, when he'd obsessed about her nonstop and wanted to see her outside of the work environment, he'd had no inconspicuous way of calling her. He'd had her cell phone number, but he knew that professionally it would be inappropriate to contact her that way and she would certainly remind him of it. Despite that he did what he pleased, professional life be damned, he hadn't called her.

So, on Monday he'd given her a company cell phone that she was _professionally_ required to keep on her person and answer at all times.

Around eight o'clock, he called her. He already knew what he was going to say—it was so well-crafted that he knew she couldn't deny him.

There was a case he had intentionally put off during the week. She, having her own key to the Senju and Uchiha office building and to his office, would be required to go pick up the file from his desk and bring it to him. He knew she didn't have a car, so it would take her awhile, and by the time she got to his home the buses would not be running to her house in the suburbs.

She would be forced to stay with him. By no means would he give her a ride back to her home. He'd already sent Izuna to stay with one of their cousins, telling him that he needed the house to himself that night.

And then the seduction could commence.

He had lost interest in Miya since the beginning of Sakura's second week. He'd slept with her Sunday evening and the entire time he'd thought of Sakura.

That had been the turning point.

The phone rang three times before it was answered. "Hello, Madara-sama. What do you need at this hour?" Her tone was polite, but it was different. She sounded…elated. Happy.

Before he could speak, Sakura spoke again, away from the phone although he could hear her. "Oh, no, Kiba-kun. It's alright, it's just my boss. You can order for me, you know what I like." She giggled audibly over the phone and suddenly it occurred to him that she was seeing somebody.

A growl formed in his throat. He felt inexplicably possessive of her and anger formed in him. However, he spoke calmly, pleased to break up the rendezvous. "I need you to get me the Tamiya file from my office."

Sakura was silent for a moment, and he could almost envision her expression. "Not to be disrespectful, Madara-sama, but don't you have a car?"

"I'm otherwise occupied at the moment, my dear," he said smoothly. "I need you to bring it to me as soon as you can."

"Madara-sama," she said calmly, "The buses don't run after ten."

He frowned. Did she see through his plan so easily? That was impossible, unless she knew the bus system to and from his house that well.

She continued, not noticing his silence. "I won't be done with my date until about nine-thirty, and by then I will need to catch the bus home."

Fury filled him, although he was relieved she was still rather naïve and didn't see what was going to happen. She _was_ on a date, and she wasn't even trying to hide it. Rage took over him but he said as coolly as possible, "I'm implying that you leave _now_."

"Madara-sama, I don't think mixing professional and personal life is a good-"

"Sakura," he said, dropping any honorifics, "Bring me the file. I expect to see you by nine-thirty."

"Please, Madara-sama," she suddenly said in a hushed voice, all façade of coolness lost. She was now just a young woman, no longer the fake Sakura who survived working for him. "I really like Kiba, and I haven't liked anybody other than your great-nephew in a long time. This is my first date. Please don't ruin it."

For some reason, he felt bad for her. Not for what he was doing, but for her. It was unlike him. He would never usually feel compassion, even when one of his clients lost their case and was sent to jail for a ridiculous length of time.

But now, he felt bad that her first date was about to be ruined.

And at the same time, he was glad for it.

"I'll see you by nine-thirty, Sakura," he repeated, and then hung up the phone.

* * *

After Sakura had told Kiba the story, he was very understanding. They had met at the restaurant, Kiba by foot because he lived nearby and Sakura by bus, so she would have no way to get a ride. Sasuke was the only person she knew who had a car, and of course he would never help her out, so she simply gutted it out and began to ride the bus to the Senju and Uchiha office building.

Sakura felt like crying. He was _such_ a bastard. Her hate for him grew and grew. How could he be so heartless? It shouldn't have been legal to do that to someone.

Now she would always correlate her first date with work and its ruinous effects on her life.

After a half-hour bus ride to the office, it took her fifteen minutes to get the file, another ten to catch the bus to Madara's. She had to transfer over, and soon she was in unfamiliar territory. According to the smart phone Madara had given her, which had GPS, she would have to walk a little bit into the Uchiha district of Tokyo.

She really hoped she wouldn't see Sasuke.

After she'd gotten the job, Sasuke had started being outright mean to her, not just cold and distant. That was how she'd met Kiba—he'd stood up for her. Obviously Ino was supportive and her and the animal-loving boy, so they'd gone out on a date not too long afterwards.

A date which had been ruined.

She hung her head dejectedly as she clutched the file in one hand and her purse in the other, thinking about the sad, hurt look on Kiba's face when she'd initially told him. However, he was so wonderful that he'd understood. He didn't hold her against her and instead said, "Next time!" with a grand smile.

And then her stupid, conceited boss came into play. She wasn't sure how she would maintain her anger this time around. He had actually directly affected her personal life, invading and taking what he wanted with no regard to her. For the next six months, she could kiss not only her free time but also her _life_ good-bye.

At this thought, tears pricked her eyes.

She tried to fight back the tears but they somehow made their way down her face. Sakura wiped her eyes quickly, realizing that she was in front of Madara's house.

Knocking on the door only barely loud enough to be heard, Sakura tried to act the way she should—calm and professional. She steeled herself and was sure that she could make it through this.

She waited about five full minutes before wondering if anybody was home, and then another minute before Madara answered. As soon as the door was opened and she saw his smirking face, looking oh-so-triumphant about _something_, Sakura felt her eyes tear up.

Madara opened the door and stepped aside. "Come in, Sakura."

"It's alright, Madara-sama," she said as calmly as she could, but her voice shook. "I-I have to catch the-"

"Nonsense," he interrupted her. "_Come in_."

His ordering command was the straw that broke the camel's back. Who did he think he was? He ruined her night, a night that was supposed to be fun and special, and now he expected her to come in and have tea or something?

No fucking way.

"I'm sorry, Madara-sama," she ground out angrily. "I don't have time for this. I brought you the file, okay? You already ruined my night," as this was said, a tear ran down her cheek, followed by several more, "and I'm not exactly feeling friendly towards you right now. So just take it and leave me alone, at least for tonight." She thrust the file in his face, holding it with a trembling hand and bowing her head to hide her tears—which had never stopped once they started.

If she had been able to look up, she would have seen rather than felt Madara take the file from her slowly. His expression was thoughtful, but soon it hardened in what would have seemed like determination.

Just before she let her hand drop, he caught it, quickly yanking her inside. Sakura shrieked, suddenly feeling very unsafe-or at least, more so than usual around him. However, the Uchiha district was deserted at this time of night and no one heard her.

Once she was inside, Madara closed the door behind them, and the lock clicked with a sense of finality.

All of a sudden, Sakura felt incredibly stupid. She had known more or less about Madara's previous intentions, specifically on her first day of work, and she knew about his playboy status. She had also known about his interest in her. However, he'd been acting so platonic that it hadn't even occurred to her that it was strange her boss wanted her to bring something to his house this late at night. She'd figured it was another power trip she would have to bow down to, but she hadn't thought…

Oh Kami…

Madara said nothing, watching her. Heart ramming against her chest, she looked at him, feeling very frightened.

"Madara-sama, I have to catch the last bus…" she said, her eyes wide but there was still a part of her that hoped this was just him being his conceited self.

"No, you don't. Not anymore," he said calmly, observing her with…oh Kami no…

She'd seen that look in men's eyes in the movies, always directed at the beautiful, busty heroine who would then squarely punch them in the nose before walking away, not a hair out of place.

That didn't seem like a likely scenario in this situation. His eyes were hungry, lusty, and full of intent that she had no desire to comply with.

This whole situation should have been more suspicious to her. Feeling immensely stupid, she took a step back, looking around wildly and trying to calculate where she could run. She wanted to call the police, but he hadn't done anything yet and she couldn't accuse him of anything.

But by the time he did anything that could incriminate him, she wouldn't be able to make it to the phone.

She had to play dumb. "You know, you're right. The bus probably already came and went. I'll just have to call my parents then."

Madara scoffed. "You're poor. Your parents ride the bus, too."

Although it was true and it should have bothered her that he somehow knew that, it was more hurtful that he called her parents poor. They worked hard, probably harder than Madara ever had, and still didn't make as much money as Sakura did at her current job—combined, they made more, but singularly, neither of her parents was paid as well as Sakura.

Suddenly, all the pain and angst that Madara had pushed on her for the past two weeks broke the dam of her composure. He could insult her, but insulting her parents was just low. They were honest, hard-working people, and just because they were below him in the money department didn't mean he had the right to talk badly of them.

"You know what?" she snapped, the tears that had evaporated with her fear reappearing to stream down her cheeks, "My parents are great people. We may be poor, and no, they don't make as much money as you, but they're actually decent human beings. They care about others. They donate to charities even though they don't have much to give. They help people, even when they need it more. They love, and I don't think you even know how to. You might have more money than them, but they're better people than you will ever be. So maybe you should think twice before you insult them," she spat. "Unless you're afraid that if people get past all your money and shiny things and fancy cars, they'll see only a conceited jackass who likes to put other people down to push himself up because he can't be a good enough man on his own."

Sakura finally wiped away her tears, and when her eyes refocused on Madara, she noticed she had actually made him angry. He was frowning genuinely, and his brow was furrowed. His black eyes were dark, angry, and yet still…lustful?

"You need to let me leave now," Sakura said quickly, feeling genuinely scared.

"And let you walk all the way home in the dark? I don't think so, Sakura," he said darkly. "There are dangerous people out there. You would do well to understand that."

Madara took a step forward, and Sakura mimicked him in taking a step backward. This continued, until Sakura unwittingly hit a wall. Once she was trapped, Madara closed the distance until their chests were touching. He caged her in by placing both arms on either side of her, not allowing her to escape.

Sakura's eyes were wide with terror but surprisingly dry. It was as though all her tears went away with her fear.

"Please…please don't hurt me," she finally whispered.

"That's the least of your worries," he replied, before forcing his lips on hers.

* * *

He felt her freeze up, shocked that he was even kissing her. Her warm, soft, plump lips were still against his own. Madara bit her bottom lip gently, not wanting to hurt her but instead hoping to instill movement. He knew she didn't feel that way for him, but he also knew the power of lust.

The rest could come later. He was tired of waiting.

Her next actions were more or less expected, although he'd hoped she'd refrain. Sakura screamed into his mouth, but the kiss muffled it and it was the perfect chance to taste her.

She tasted just as he had expected; sweet, perfectly sweet. He waited for her to stop screaming, once she realized it was futile.

Hating the moment he had to pull away, Madara said, "No one will hear you, Sakura. Just enjoy it."

"No! Please, no!" she begged. She tried to shove him away and he caught her wrists easily, pulling them above her head and grasping them both with one hand. His other hand freed, he went to kiss her again, but she quickly turned her head.

"It's just as well," he murmured. He felt somewhat disconcerted that she still wasn't responding, but he also hadn't given her much to feel good about. Madara knew she was scared—he was aware this wasn't her idea. He also knew that she would end up liking it, and coming back for more. They always did. Leaning down, he kissed on her neck instead of her lips and moved down quickly to the junction of her neck and shoulder, where he bit down lightly, flicking his tongue over her soft skin again and again.

"Please," she whispered. "Please…don't do this."

He ignored her, knowing that it was her fear speaking. He would just have to prove to her that this was going to be enjoyable. A thought crossed his mind and he couldn't think of a better way to show her…

She would enjoy this.

Suddenly, he pulled away from her and scooped her up. She must have caught on to where they were going because she panicked. "No, please, Madara-sama! Please!"

"Just Madara tonight, Sakura," he said throatily, and Sakura began to cry.

"Please, you can't do this. Seriously, you can't. I'll-I'll tell the police! I swear I will!" she told him, struggling in his arms. He held her tightly.

"And just what will you tell them, Sakura?" They were almost at their destination.

"I'll tell them that you-"

Suddenly, she was placed down on a soft king-sized mattress. A black comforter and navy blue sheets were beneath her…

And suddenly one Uchiha Madara was on top of her.

He pushed her down into the mattress, which was soft and took their weight with ease. He had the feeling she was going to scream again, so he kissed her again. She opened her mouth a split second too late and he thrust his tongue into her mouth, exploring her once more.

She shoved at his chest, trying to push him off desperately, but he leaned in against her and removed her arms from between them. He cupped her breast, rubbing her clothed nipple gently until he felt it harden.

He had known she would give in.

* * *

Sakura was panicking, more terrified than she ever had been before. Her arms were disabled at her sides and he was…oh Kami, he was _fondling_ her. She broke out in a cold sweat, terrified at how her body was reacting and just how far he could take this.

Madara pulled away from her, leaving her gasping for breath. "Relax," he told her. "I won't hurt you."

"Please, Madara-sa-"

"Just Madara," he interrupted, correcting her.

Sakura ignored him, forgoing the name altogether. "Please! I don't want this!"

"You will," was all he said.

Suddenly Madara raised her hands up above her head. He was staring deep into her eyes and she couldn't look back at his soulless black orbs, instead averting her gaze to anywhere.

It was true, no one had heard her screaming. There was no reaction in the night, nothing had happened or changed. She was trapped with Madara and he was going to do whatever he pleased with her.

However, when the coolness of leather touched her wrists in a very intimate fashion, Sakura's insides turned to ice.

"No! No! NO, you can't do this!" she screamed at him, trying to wrench her wrists away. However, the deed had been done quite quickly and she was tied to the bedpost.

"Shhh, or you'll make me do something I'll regret," Madara told her. Fear filled her further. Was this something he wouldn't regret? What else could he do?

Sakura suddenly very much hated her choice in clothing as he moved lower on her body. She and Kiba had gone to a rather nice restaurant, given that Kiba had a good amount of money in his family, and so she'd donned her best dress, a sleek black satin off-the-shoulders knee-length dress.

He slipped both hands under the flowing dress and while one moved to her breast, under her bra, to play with the previously hardened nipple, the other tugged her panties down to her knees.

Whimpering, she shifted, trying to avoid his probing finger, but quickly enough he had parted her lower lips with his index and ring finger and was using his middle finger to rub her clit.

Sakura's eyes instinctively closed when he touched her there and she gasped, stricken by how good it wasn't supposed to feel. What was wrong with her? Was she somehow incredibly sick? She was crazy, that was it, she needed to be locked up-

The thought was quickly cut off when she felt sudden burning, stretching pain _inside_ her. Gritting her teeth, she squirmed and whimpered as Madara slowly pumped in and out of her with his finger.

He leaned over her and whispered in her ear, "You're so tight. You'll feel so good for me…"

Sakura sobbed weakly. He was going to rape her and there was nothing she could do about it but pray for the nightmare to be over as soon as possible. Her hands were impossibly bound. She wouldn't be released until Madara saw fit. What if he killed her?

For some reason, even though Sakura hated him and would never trust him, she really didn't think he'd kill her. He wasn't a murderer…at least she hoped not.

She cried out when a second finger was pushed inside her. Sakura gritted her teeth, trying to keep it in, before letting out a cry of pain. To what little credit he deserved, Madara was moving slowly and at least trying not to hurt her. His thumb continually worked over her clit, sometimes touching it so intensely that a bolt of…something jolted her body and she would tremor around his fingers.

When Madara removed his fingers, licking off the wet substance in front of her disgusted eyes, she thought that maybe the worst part was next and she would just have to endure this before somehow getting home. She could handle that, she could handle that. The mantra was strong in her mind. She could take this. _Somehow…_

Suddenly, Madara pulled her underwear off her body altogether. This was it, she was going to lose her virginity. She should have felt more upset, but she knew that would come later. She was in too much shock to absorb it all yet. The worst was still coming.

He leaned over to the bedside table, where the only lighting in the room was. She saw him pull out a Swiss Army knife, and her body trembled with terror.

Then she realized he was cutting her favorite dress up so that it left her body altogether, crisscrossing patterns so that she would be left entirely naked once the bra was disposed of.

Sakura felt like crying, but there were no tears left. She was numb. The world was spinning and terrible things were happening, but she couldn't bring up any more emotion. Fear and anger were her world, and they encompassed every thought, every action. There would be another time for sadness, but now was not it.

Now was the time to be strong.

Madara observed her beautiful naked body. He had envisioned her like this, only not as glorious. Suddenly his hands were roaming her everywhere, feeling her breasts and tweaking her nipples, which agitated her but he could feel her body's need, even if she couldn't. He stroked and caressed every inch of her body, causing her to squirm but not say anything. He had known she would cooperate in the end.

He was feeling his own arousal grow and his need intensify, but he knew that this whole endeavor would be pointless if she didn't enjoy it. He _had_ to make her enjoy it now, or else it would be harder to bring her back next time. He already knew that Sakura was more to him than even Miya, and Miya he had been seeing for years.

He _needed_ Sakura in his life, and he'd be damned if she wasn't going to be there.

Hastily, knowing that he needed release soon, he knelt in between her legs and pulled her rear up, baring her sex to him. Taking in the delicious aroma of her womanhood, he let his tongue flick out between his lips and press against her already stimulated clit.

Her gasp was instantaneous. As he pressed his tongue against her and licked passionately, he knew he couldn't live without her taste, not now that he'd had it. She was the forbidden fruit, and he felt that she couldn't have been more worth it.

Madara took long, luxurious strokes up and down her womanhood, waiting for the moans that would signal he could move forward.

And they arrived, more quickly than he would have thought under the circumstances.

* * *

Sakura wasn't sure what was going on, except that she had numbed out so completely that she was actually feeling pleasure. Her mind had turned off but her body hadn't. Every time his tongue passed over her clit, she let out a very vocal whimper that sent shivers of shame and self-hatred down her spine.

She felt an odd, but not entirely uncomfortable feeling building up in her abdomen. It was warm, tingling, and building so high and so quickly that she knew it would be like a tsunami when this feeling hit her. Without realizing it, Sakura writhed and moaned under Madara's tongue, so disassociated with the event and lost in the helpless lust that she couldn't hold back. Madara's skill and his gentleness had somehow coaxed her body into believing this was consensual, despite her mind's awareness that it was not. However, her mind had long since shut off, and all that was left was her carnal side.

Just as she felt like maybe, just maybe the tsunami would hit her in a tidal wave of pleasure, Madara pulled away. Panting with some difficulty, she tried to steady herself. Okay, that was good. He was done. He had to be done, there was no way…

The quick zip of his black slack's zipper going down startled her out of her pleasured stupor, but she realized it wouldn't make much of a difference anyways. She was going to lose her virginity, whether she told him or not, so might as well just not talk about it.

Curiosity wouldn't have been the right word, but she did want to gauge how badly this was going to hurt.

When she saw his size, she wondered if it would fit and knew that there was no way this was going to feel good. She had at least prayed he wasn't all that large…maybe it wouldn't hurt too bad…

Those prayers had been futile.

Madara leaned over her and she shut her eyes, still not wanting to look at him. Nonetheless he kissed her with her taste still on his tongue. Shivering weakly, not exactly liking her own personal flavor, Sakura kept her eyes closed. She could feel him stroking himself against her inner thigh and suddenly she began to tremble violently. Her mind was starting to creep back into consciousness and she had to block it out, just for a little while longer, just until she was past the worst part of the trauma.

She felt as though she was watching a movie, experiencing all the emotions that were happening to the girl on the screen, but at that moment there was no convincing her that she actually _was_ the girl on the screen.

"Open your eyes, Sakura," Madara finally spoke. Sakura was torn. Would it be easier to just listen to him? Probably, she decided, so she gingerly opened them and ended up looking directly into Madara's black orbs.

She was paralyzed, terrified, not expecting the wave of emotions that filled her when she looked at him. Hatred, betrayal, anger, terror, bloodlust, loathing…all these whirled around in her, buzzing like bees in a bees nest.

"Just enjoy yourself," he said calmly. Sakura tried to maintain her composure when she felt his hard tip at her opening. Trembling, she noticed Madara wasn't looking so it was safe to shed a few tears.

The first inch was horrible, but not as horrible as the next four. Once he was more or less halfway inside her, Sakura thought she was going to die. Her breathing was labored as she felt her body try to adjust. She wondered if the worst part was over, and if she would just deal with this and then it would be over for good.

Sakura felt him pull out slightly, and even though the movement was painful she figured that was to happen.

And then the mind-shattering pain came as he filled her fully with his entire ten-inch member.

Haruno Sakura was no longer a virgin.

* * *

Madara paused when he felt the initial resistance, and then felt it break when he'd thrust past it. It'd been so long since he'd taken a girl's virginity that he'd forgotten what it felt like. It now made sense why she was so tight. He'd been so sure that being a nineteen year old she wouldn't have been a virgin. It changed how he felt about what he'd done to her; the tears now had a totally different meaning, and her pleading was no longer out of exaggerated fear. She had never done it before—she may or may not have known it was going to feel good. He vaguely wished he'd taken the time to actually let her orgasm, now that he had this newfound knowledge. He'd been so keen for her first orgasm with him to be mutual. The thought of her coming with him inside of her had been too tempting to ignore. Now he understood that she would likely not have one; she was so tight it almost felt as though she'd never even masturbated. At this disturbing thought, Madara pulled out and then pushed back into her once more.

He would think about all that some other time. He had a need to be filled, and he'd be damned if he'd put his Sakura through this for no reason.

_His Sakura_. It had a nice ring to it.

Initially, he tried for her to enjoy it, but he soon realized he would do her a greater service if he enjoyed her, finished, and then taught her about orgasms at another point, when she wasn't so scared.

He took his time, making sure to widen her up so that the next time wouldn't be as painful, finished by coming on her stomach, and then rolled off of her, exhausted. He turned off the lamplight beside them, kissed Sakura on the side of the head absentmindedly, and fell asleep, too tired to think about Sakura's reaction to what had happened or to even remember the state he'd left her in. The release had been so satisfying, so filling, so perfect in every way, that he was left stunned.

The orgasm she had given him sealed the deal.

Sakura was now, and would always be from then on, his.

* * *

Her mind returned to find her reality disgustingly real. Her arms were still tied above her head and there was a sticky, soon-to-be crusty substance on her stomach. She felt the pain between her legs as though she'd be ripped open with a hot poker, and her abdomen was sore in the worst way.

Sakura could not bring herself to remember what had happened. She didn't want to think about it. She would _never_ want to think about it. All she knew what that she had to get out of this situation…somehow.

There had to be something she could do. At this point, she didn't care if Madara slandered her and ruined her reputation to every employer in Japan. She couldn't move forward still working for him. This could never happen again, ever, ever, never, ever happen again.

She had barely survived this encounter, escaping with her sanity by the skin of her teeth.

She didn't think she'd be so lucky next time.

* * *

**It gets worse, no worries. I will continue to trickle information as to what's going on in the next few chapters.**


	5. The Aftermath

**Relatively shorter chapter here, but it's important. Next chapter should go up Sunday or Monday, so please review and stay tuned! I'm hoping I can eventually hit 100 reviews, so please make my dream come true! After that, I won't ask anymore. Haha**

* * *

When Madara awoke, he felt as though he'd had a very pleasant dream. He had finally had _his_ Sakura. She was his, and always would be. There had been a few complications with the dream, where he had felt bad about taking her virginity, or something like that, and that he realized he had genuinely forced himself on her. He opened his eyes contentedly, noticing that it was still early by the dim light of the waking sky. That dream had been most fulfilling, and noticing that his bottom half was naked—although he never slept as such—made him wonder if he had gotten drunk the night before and didn't remember how he'd gotten there.

He thought that maybe he should go back to sleep, as it was earlier than he even normally woke up at for work. He shifted in his bed, sitting up for a moment, and that was when he noticed her.

It _hadn't_ been a dream, he smirked to himself, the realization extremely satisfying. Everything came rushing back to him—the reality of her tight walls around him, clenching him; the taste of her on his tongue; her moans and the way she'd writhed underneath him, enjoying his tongue on her clit.

However, looking at her puffy cheeks, red from crying, and the leather straps around her wrists still tying her to the bed, a whole new cascade of emotions assaulted him.

He now knew she truly hadn't wanted him, and that this situation had to have been terribly emotionally damaging to her. Madara consoled himself that she was strong, and she would get past it, and she would come back for more if he convinced her.

He was a very convincing person.

However, there was a sort of glamor to the fact that he'd been her first…that now he was in the perfect position to be her only. She would only ever need or want him, even if it was not at her own volition initially. Sakura would eventually crave him, and hold onto him as tightly as he would hold onto her.

He knew he could not let her go, not now, not while she was still afraid of him.

He admired her form. There was his pink-haired beauty, still tied up to the bed post, his release still on her stomach. Seeing her naked form hardened him almost instantaneously. It was Sunday—that meant he had all day to make her understand what was going to happen next. He had nearly twelve hours to make her see that she was his and would only ever be his.

Then a thought crossed his mind; he could just keep her until Monday, take her to work with him…

Yes, this was a good plan indeed.

* * *

Sakura stirred in her sleep, subconsciously feeling frightened again. She had had the worst nightmare of her life. She had been raped by Madara, and he had left her in a grossly demeaning position. Even as she blearily fluttered her eyes, she still felt as though the dream had been real. Her abdomen hurt, probably from the nausea caused by all the horrible emotions she had experienced, and she moved to wrap her hands down around her stomach to soothe it.

Except that she couldn't. It wasn't because they were dead asleep, or because she felt the prickling sensation of loss of circulation all the way up her arms, but because she was being physically stopped by something. She struggled slightly, confused, and then more and more of the dream revealed itself to be reality.

He had tied her up, arms above her head with leather to the bed post.

He had raped her, taking her virginity.

He had left her naked, his seed still on her stomach.

Hoping that somehow, she was just imagining this, she opened her eyes. There was Madara, still half-naked from the night before, staring out the window, a terrifyingly thoughtful expression on his face.

Sakura looked around the room. It was simple, with a Western hint to the decorations. There were a few beautiful, and probably expensive, paintings on the walls. The walls were plain white, and she couldn't see the carpet from her position without moving and alerting Madara she was awake. There were no pictures of family or anything that would make this place feel homely as opposed to a hotel room. The bedside table had the pocketknife from the night before on top of it, still open from hasty use. Most of the accents of the room were navy blue, but that was to be expected; he was an Uchiha.

She closed her eyes, willing it to go away. When it wouldn't, and the pain in her arms was intensified by fully regaining consciousness, Sakura finally had to ask, in a very small voice, "Can I go home now?"

Madara slowly turned to her, his face serious and not playful, which frightened her. "You're not going anywhere."

Sakura panicked. "I promise, promise, _promise_ I won't tell anyone," she told him, and for some reason she felt as though that was the truth. She didn't want the whole world to know she had been raped, and given the title of her rapist and his power, it would be a huge fiasco. No, she would protect Madara's actions if it meant she could just return to normal life.

But it wouldn't be normal, would it?

Feel nauseated, she grit her teeth while waiting for him to respond.

"That's to be expected, Sakura. I wouldn't expect you to say a word. You're still not leaving, however."

She tried to move but her arms groaned in protest. Whimpering at the excruciating pain of moving at all, she begged, "At least untie me. I can't feel my arms." She figured that she would have to take baby steps when escaping. When he didn't move, she told him, "I don't want to lose my arms due to lack of circulation."

Madara rolled his eyes, but untied her. It was so painful to move them back into the correct position it felt as though her shoulders had been dislocated. However, she quickly worked to get the circulation moving again and sat still until she could move them without pain again. It felt like it took a whole fifteen minutes, but in reality it probably only took five.

When she sat up, she could feel the crustiness of his seed on her stomach. Shivering in disgust, she said, "I need to take a shower." She didn't mention that she refused to leave the house like this and would stay here until she was presentable to the public.

And then it occurred to her that her dress was beyond repair.

As she examined her favorite dress, which had cost three thousand yen, which was a lot to her—although maybe not to Madara—now in ruins, Sakura felt hurt. She had really liked that dress, and not even the best seamstress in the world could help her now. Even if she got it repaired, it would never be the same. It had frayed overnight, the satin too thin and in too many pieces to be beautiful again.

Somehow, it felt easier to be angry over the dress than it was to recall the degrading events of the night before.

She suddenly realized she was being observed. When she turned to look at him, he finally spoke. "You didn't tell me you were a virgin."

Sakura's stomach flip-flopped and she felt like she was going to be ill. "Are we really going to talk about this? It wouldn't have stopped you. You knew what you wanted and you were going to get it," she spat hatefully.

Madara looked at her passively. "You were meant to enjoy it. I would have been gentler if I had known."

Sakura froze, her lips parting as she gaped at him. Was he insane? As in, more insane than the average rapist? _A rapist who wanted their victims to enjoy it?_

She didn't even know what to say.

Finally, after a long silence she resorted to her best defense—sarcasm. "Well, as much as I would love to partake in morning-after pillow talk with my rapist, I'd really just like to get the fuck out of here. If you could accommodate me with that, that would be-"

Madara was suddenly on top of her, spreading her legs with his knees and placing his hands over her mouth in preparation for her scream.

"Last night was not rape, Sakura," he hissed at her. She hadn't realized calling him a rapist would infuriate him, but it did. "However, if you want me to rape you, I can comply."

Beginning to cry, Sakura shook her head frantically and pushed at him.

Madara relented, much more easily than she had expected him to. He moved off her and, taking her hand, pulled her off the bed. Confused, she followed him warily, wiping away her sudden tears quickly.

Walking across the rather large room, he turned and presented her to a spacious bathroom. "Adjust the water to your settings. I have no preference," he told her, beginning to take off the rest of his clothing.

"Uh…you're not coming in there with-"

A single glare shut her up.

She would just have to endure a little longer. As soon as she figured out what to wear and how to get out, after of course cleaning herself off, she would high tail it out of there.

So, deciding to at least enjoy her shower, even if Madara would be in there, Sakura adjusted the settings to her liking and then stepped into the heated water spray.

Almost immediately her muscles relaxed and she let out a low hum of approval that she couldn't restrain. The pelting water was heavenly, and she immediately reached for the body wash. She realized that there were two sets in the shower—one for male and one for female.

If she hadn't felt sick before, she certainly did now.

He obviously had many partners if he kept a separate set of toiletries in his personal shower. What if she had gotten something? Madara had told her once that he didn't have anything, but was she seriously supposed to believe him? They hadn't used a condom…oh god…

At least he hadn't come inside of her. That would have been terrible. She would have rather been murdered than gone through the shame of a teenage pregnancy. She might turn twenty in a few weeks, but she would still rather not get pregnant.

Just as she was recovering from the shock of finding his second set of bathing supplies, Madara stepped into the shower. Hastily she grabbed the name-brand moisturizing body wash, preparing to use it, but suddenly he caught her wrist. Staring at him, frightened, she watched as he took the moisturizer from her and poured it into his palm. Confused, Sakura watched him lather it up, his eyes never leaving hers.

And then he gripped her shoulders and began to massage them, the soap still on his hands. Sakura didn't know what to say to this strange Madara, so she said nothing and simply trembled under his gentle but firm touch.

She hated to say that the massage felt good, but after the long, tumultuous night, the large, skillful hands working over her body couldn't feel bad. She tried to stay tense, tried to not enjoy it, but he continually worked over her even when the soap was fully washed away. He only reached around once, and that was to wash the semen off her stomach, although it was already mostly gone. He didn't turn her around to even look at her, he just focused on her tense shoulders and back. She wondered vaguely if the implications of his words were true. Did he really not mean to hurt her? It was almost like this was an apology.

Was he actually capable of feeling?

* * *

Madara felt her slowly relax and he smirked to himself, knowing she couldn't see it. Touching her naked body had made him intensely hard and he would have to sate that soon. But he would let the shower wash away her fear, relax her, and make her putty in his hands.

He liked it better that way.

After a good fifteen minutes, he stopped. She immediately tensed again, but he only reached for the shampoo and began to massage her scalp with it. Sakura relaxed more easily this time, seeming to believe he wouldn't hurt her.

She was right. He had no intention of hurting her. She would most certainly enjoy it this time.

Once he had finished massaging her scalp and the shampoo had washed away, he began to clean himself. She turned to leave, but he held her in place.

"Wait," he commanded, brooking no room for argument. She froze, confused, but when he starting cleaning himself once more, she simply averted her eyes.

However, he could tell by her quiet demeanor that her mind was set on one thing: survival. She would be obedient, he realized, if she wasn't afraid for her life. She seemed to understand that he could be pushed to hurting her, but if she behaved and listened to him, he wasn't all that bad.

The last part he added for his own benefit. He hoped-rather, he knew-that she would grow to like him, maybe even love him. It wasn't uncharacteristic for women to fall for him left and right, and Sakura was most definitely a woman, not a girl. She was more mature than he'd ever thought to give her credit for, given the way she was able to adapt to her environment. She had adapted to her work situation, and she was in the process of adapting to the situation between them.

He knew it then. She _would_ love him, whether she liked it or not.

He wouldn't let her say no.

* * *

**I won't tell you if feelings are developing on Madara's part...but I would like to know what you all think! Let me know!**


	6. The Accident

**Here is the next chapter, as promised! Please read and review!**

* * *

_Endure, endure, endure,_ rang through Sakura's mind as she waited for Madara to finish showering. With her eyes averted, there wasn't much to do other than wait. The warm water was lasting much longer than it did her house, probably due to a different sized water heater.

She glanced at him from the corner of her eye, hoping he wouldn't see her looking at him. She was actually surprised at how well-built he was, given his age. His abs were toned and it didn't seem like there was a hint of fat on his body. The muscles on his arms bulged under his skin, giving a sense of strength and power but not in a body-builder fashion that would make her uncomfortable. However, it explained how he was so easily able to overpower her; he literally was all muscle.

Sakura didn't even glance below the waist, though. That was something she hoped to never do again. At the memory of his lower abdomen and groin, the manhood that had hurt her so much, she immediately paled and looked away fully, resolutely deciding that no matter how attractive his body was, there was no way she could ever be attracted to _him_.

Stuck in her thoughts although starting to feel queasy in his presence, Sakura didn't notice him moving until he gripped her upper arm and pushed her against the wall of the suddenly too-small shower.

He stood before her, watching her reaction. She tried not to show fear. They said in the criminal psychoanalysis shows that some rapists thrived on fear. She wasn't sure what kind of rapist Madara was, but she knew how she could rule out one theory.

She stared him straight in the eye, trying to appear confident and not afraid. They maintained eye contact for what seemed like centuries before Madara smirked and moved in on her, invading her personal space in every sense.

Sakura kept staring him down, hoping he would lose interest. This seemed to be the wrong response, because he leaned in to kiss her.

He was giving her time to react. He was trying to get her to show fear, to struggle, to fight back. Misguidedly, she took the confident woman act to a whole new level.

She smacked him hard on the face with her open palm, hoping to present herself nonverbally as a difficult target so that he would lose interest. The more she had thought about it, the more she realized that she'd made herself out to be a frightened deer, the easiest prey for the predator on the night previous. She wouldn't let that happen this time.

The echo of the slap reverberated in the tiled bathroom, but it did not have the effect Sakura was hoping for. His face had barely moved, although there was a red mark showing that she'd hit rather hard, but what frightened her was the smirk that made its way on his face. His lips quirked, showing amusement, but his eyes were hard and seemingly more determined than ever.

Oh, Kami. What had she done?

All her energy was spent trying to appear courageous, so when he suddenly pulled her naked body flush into his own, she shrieked involuntarily, terrified.

He didn't kiss her, however. He moved past her face, pressing his red-marked cheek against hers and whispered, "If that's the game you want to play, I can certainly comply."

Sakura groped for words, trying to speak, but his lips came down harshly on hers. Knowing better now, she clamped her jaw shut, even when he licked her bottom lip to ask for entrance. He ignored her obstinacy and bit down hard on her lower lip. She hadn't expected it so she whimpered, and the small opening was enough for him.

His tongue slithered into her mouth, exploring. Memories of the night before filled Sakura's mind and she felt tears forming. However, he distracted her by pressing her painfully hard against the tile wall and lifting his knee precisely between her legs, parting her thighs.

Sakura panicked. Fleetingly remembering how easy it was to fall in the shower, she shoved against him desperately.

He didn't budge, instead gripping her hands, pressing them against her sides, and resting his foot on the outer ledge of the shower, which propped her right leg up in the air.

Oh, Kami, it would be so easy for him to-

Madara apparently understood this, because he pressed his hardened groin against her stomach. Feeling his size once more near her, Sakura began to thrash. Madara held her perfectly still before suddenly breaking contact with her forearms and instead lifting her up by the waist. Her legs dangled terrifyingly and to find support, she wrapped them around him, smartly positioning herself so that he couldn't enter her where she was.

He did nothing to stop her from gripping him by her legs, instead encouraging it by gripping her ass.

The vile man's lips never left hers, knowing that if they did she would scream. He was right—at the first given moment, she _would_ scream. It was morning now, so there would be people to hear. _There had to be._

Madara never gave her the chance to do so, however. With fast thinking, she thought to push him with her newly freed arms, but then she realized that she would fall too and possibly get very hurt. On a primal level she saw the glass shower door and knew that if they fell back against it, it could mean death. She didn't care if he died, but she didn't want to risk it for herself. So instead she gripped his shoulders, trying to steady herself.

She swore she felt Madara smile, but Sakura wasn't really paying attention to him. She was quickly trying to calculate a way out before he was able to rape her again. The positioning of her body would only last for so long. There had to be a way—there _was_ a way—she just wasn't finding it. What was she doing wrong?

One of his hands left her rear and began to move her hips lower so that he could enter her. Sakura pulled herself to him with everything she was, but with him kissing her—somehow he could breathe perfectly fine, whereas she was failing to do so—she couldn't bring herself as close as she needed to.

He pressed her against the tile once more, sensing that if they moved too far away from the tile she would be able to break the kiss and scream.

She suddenly felt his second hand leave her rear, causing her to grip him even more tightly, but she couldn't help that her body fell the little bit that it needed to for his tip to push against her painfully.

Sakura felt herself shutting off again. The memories that flooded her when this all began were overwhelming and tolling on her body. She gave up—there was nothing she could do. She let herself go limp against him, not letting go but not fighting.

What else was there to do?

* * *

Madara felt her give in, and he relished the moment. He lined himself up to probe her opening and then gently guided himself inside her. He released her from the kiss, knowing full well that she would no longer scream.

He was right. She simply rested her chin on his shoulder and her tears, unknown to Madara, mixed in with the shower water, forever invisible and forgotten.

Madara felt her walls clamping down around him, and it helped that his member was already wet, because she wasn't. The water served a well enough lubricant and he slowly began to thrust, moving in her calmly, collectedly. The pleasure in him soared, every fiber in his body demanding that he move more quickly, claim all he could.

But he restrained himself, feeling with his cock where it would feel good for her.

He leaned their entwined bodies against the wall and her head slightly lolled to the side. Madara ignored it, knowing that when he found what he was looking for, she would be alert within seconds.

With his understanding of the female body, it didn't take long to find it. He pressed against it gently, watching from the corner of his eye her reaction.

She was trembling, he noticed, and he continued to hit her over and over where he knew the spot to be. She was good at containing herself, he knew. She'd shown it in the office as well. A demeaning remark went unnoticed by her, or she would be scolded for something out of her control and she would simply take it. He decided that it was the same in this situation.

But unlike at the office, he wanted her to respond. So he progressively thrust harder and faster, pinpointing her g-spot naturally.

Suddenly, on a particularly hard thrust, she was broken out of her mental jail. Sakura gasped, then gasped again when she was repeatedly hit there. A small whimper escaped her lips.

She was now his.

* * *

Sakura had no idea what was happening to her, but it was reminiscent of the night previous and she was terrified. It reminded her of when he was assaulting her womanhood with his mouth and tongue, but this feeling was even more intense. Every time Madara hit her there, a jolt of pleasure surged through her body. She couldn't believe what her body was telling her—that it wanted more! How the hell was she supposed to fight herself on this? Feel good, or feel pain like no other? It was really a no-brainer, but the situation made it much more complicated than just "enjoy or do not enjoy."

As he continually hit against that bundle of nerves, Sakura fought back the emotion. She decided she would rather not enjoy it. However, her body had other ideas. The more she fought against the feeling, the more deeply she felt it. It was overpowering her, and she had to let it out. She couldn't keep it in anymore.

"Ohh…"

Sakura's eyes shot open at the sound of her own voice…moaning? She was quaking beneath the skin, her body begging for Madara to move faster. After her noise, he had slowed considerably, still stimulating her but not nearly enough to give her what she wanted.

Wait, what she wanted? What did she want? This was news to her.

Madara leaned away from her, forcing her to make eye contact with him. She knew her confusion was evident. Her eyes had always been too expressive, and she knew he would see the anger, the confusion, the need for…something.

He was smirking. "Ask me, Sakura," he said in a low, deep voice, still thrusting lightly and slowly, continually making his touches lighter until she was experiencing feather-like touches, barely deserving of the pleasure that followed.

Sakura was trembling and she finally looked away. Suddenly, he stopped, and Sakura couldn't believe it. He was just…going to leave her like that?

The moment the thought crossed her mind, she knew her mental wiring was fried. What the hell was going on! Why was she feeling this way when he was _just about_ to stop raping her!

Sakura felt like she wanted to cry. Why did she want him to keep going? She didn't! She didn't! No way in hell!

But then why was her body still clinging to his when all she had to do was step down and let go?

Unwittingly, Sakura let out a cry of frustration. Almost immediately, he moved inside her once more, pressing against that _spot_ and making small thrusts to continually stimulate it, putting her in overdrive.

Several cries came from her throat, primal and real. She could no longer think straight. It was a haze of lust and there was nothing but the present moment inside it; no past, no future, no consequences. _Just feel,_ the haze told her, and she wanted to listen. She wanted to feel good, and this was the best kind of 'feel good' she had ever experienced.

Suddenly he stopped and Sakura whimpered, no longer caring. She had come to the decision that once she left, she'd take a train to Kyoto and never come back. There were no more consequences for this forsaken weekend. She'd be off and away forever very soon.

"Ask, Sakura," he repeated.

Sakura ignored the nagging, terrible voice in the back of her head and replied, "Ask for what? What am I asking for?" A hint of desperation was in her voice.

He sounded much too pleased with himself. "Ask me to make you come."

This was a bit much, even for Sakura's pleasure-induced state. She couldn't forget what this man had done to her; she had merely surrendered with results she'd not expected. But she wasn't going to give in to him like _that_. Ask him to keep raping her?

When it was framed like that, she suddenly felt the haze of lust recede and she just realized how stupid she had been.

Madara seemed to sense that she was growing uncertain so he began to pump against her again, bringing the feeling back, but the seed of reality had been replanted in her mind. She wouldn't give back into the haze, not again.

When her response was obviously not what he wanted, Madara suddenly gripped her throat, lightly choking her against the wall. She was so stunned by the turn of events—one minute calm, pleasing Madara and then another a murderous rapist in his stead—that she didn't even think to make a noise.

"Ask me," he growled, his eyes actually furious for the first time she had ever seen.

There was no hidden mirth behind them and there was no compassion. It was that expression that led her to believe that yes, he could kill someone if he wanted to.

And she was the nearest target.

"P-please m-make me c-come," she stammered, breathing shallowly and terrified. He removed his hand from her throat and kissed her viciously, beginning to thrust in and out of her, hitting her bundle of nerves with such precision and strength that she shook from the power of the pleasure flowing through her.

However, it wasn't the same as before. Before, she had turned off reality and genuinely enjoyed it. Now, it was just primal pleasure that was ruined by said reality.

Suddenly, her pleasure peaked and she was falling over the edge of her first climax. The orgasm, despite the fact it was taken with a grain of salt, was amazing. She felt her walls clench and contract and suddenly she felt his thrusting increase in speed, as well. It felt even better for her, and since he was an expert at sex, she supposed he knew that.

What she didn't expect to feel was the hotness of his seed inside of her, filling her up fully. Her insides froze, turning to sharp ice, and her orgasm was abruptly cut short.

What was worse was that he stayed inside of her for the longest time afterwards, only coming out of her when he was too soft to continue penetrating her. It was as though he didn't _want_ the sperm to escape her.

Sakura was stock still, too shocked to even process what had just happened. If it had been an accident, for whatever reason, he would have pulled out after the first ejaculation and then finished on her stomach, like the night before. But not only had he simply come inside of her, he'd actually stayed inside her long after the deed was done, ensuring that she would most likely get…

Sakura looked up and him, terrified and confused. The feared question was in her eyes.

_Why are you trying to get me pregnant?_

* * *

Madara looked down at her, _his_ Sakura. After hearing her moans, her need, and then understanding that she was still too afraid of him to participate willingly, he knew that claiming her naturally would take too long. He would never be able to get this chance again. Even though he was a known playboy and because of his status any allegations of rape would be basically nullified, he would never be able to get her in this position again. He wasn't stupid enough to try and have her at work, as he shared a floor with Tobirama and Hashirama, and their age difference made it so they didn't have much in common. There would never be a way to get her into this situation again.

This would have been their last time together, unless he took her later on in the day, but Izuna would be home soon and although he knew Izuna wouldn't do anything, he didn't want his brother to see the weakness that Haruno Sakura was to him.

So it became obvious that he would have to give them something that they would share, that they would bond over, and that could not be taken away once created.

A child.

He hadn't been sure how deeply his affection for Sakura grew until he had been about to come, and in that unclear moment of pleasure, the clearest thought he'd ever had came to him: _Do whatever you have to in order to keep her._

He'd known exactly what to do to make sure she would never be rid of him.

Madara noticed Sakura was crying because her eyes were red. By now the water was only lukewarm, so he turned it off. The steam was keeping the room more than just warm, so Madara didn't move for a towel yet.

"Wh-why?" she asked between sobs. "Why w-would you d-do that?" She buried her face in her palms. He pulled her into him, holding her, even though she fought against him. Even when she screamed, "NO! You can't ever touch me again! NO! Let me go! Let me go, let me go, let me…go…let…me go…" and then fell to pieces in his arms. He held her up and wouldn't let her fall to the ground.

As he guided her forcefully out of the shower, although she didn't fight much in her broken state, he took a towel from the shelf and then wrapped it around her shoulders before taking care of himself. Sakura was still mutely sobbing, crying the tears she should have the night before.

Finally Madara answered her question, deeming it appropriate now that she was listening.

"I am attempting to impregnate you, Sakura, because I know you'll run away from me the first moment you get a chance. Now I believe you'll have second thoughts." The look on her face urged him to continue cruelly. "You'll be alone, pregnant if I have my way, and without an employer in the world who would hire _you¸_ who are pregnant by your previous employer. No money, no way to get by. You can't even afford an abortion without sending your parents into more debt that they can't handle. None of the boys your age would look twice at you with a baby on your hip, and what man older than that would want a child not theirs? You'll be pregnant for the next nine months, and you'll most likely have to leave school near the end. You have a child, no schooling, and before the end of the nine months you won't even have a job. What are you going to do, Sakura?"

The look on her face was adorable. Although the tears were still falling, she looked to be totally at a loss. He would have loved to be able to know what she was thinking at that moment.

Finally, she said, "Please don't fire me after the six months. I promise, I'll do anything…"

Madara looked at her condescendingly. "If I remember correctly, you didn't want the job. You insulted me quite disrespectfully. I'm afraid you'll end up unemployed."

Sakura sat down on the floor, wrapping the towel around her body tightly. "Please, no. You can't ruin my life like this, please don't." She looked up at his tearfully.

"You do have one option, although it's clear you won't take it."

Sakura, desperate and ready to do anything, looked up at him determinedly. "I'm listening."

Madara smirked. "I obviously want the child, and as it's mine, the unborn Uchiha will need to be raised properly so as to not disgrace the Uchiha clan. You will live with me, date me, and eventually marry me."

Sakura looked forlorn.

"You know it's the best option. I have enough money at this very moment to give a proper burial and ceremony to every Uchiha in my clan who may die during my lifetime and then some. You will not be concerned with school, or work, or really anything other than _our_ child. Maybe that will be plural at some point. It will depend. As long as you can cook, clean, and do the usual wifely duties, there will be no problem."

Sakura looked up at him with a sort of angry awe, before saying, "So that's it, huh? You've just decided the rest of my life for me, and I bet it sounds so great in your head, doesn't it? Did it ever occur to you that I didn't want this?"

"Sometimes, the best things in life aren't wanted initially," Madara replied, bored. There was more that they could be doing. He was actually rather hungry.

"Did it ever occur to you that I will never be happy with you?" Sakura's words were icy and it was clear she was hurting and angry, desperate to hurt him back.

Madara leaned down and yanked her up, eyes cold and hard and…angry? "Did it ever occur to you that I don't care?"

And then he dragged her out of the bathroom, handed her an outfit from Miya's spare clothing, and ordered her to make breakfast.

* * *

**I kinda feel bad for Sakura after this chapter. She sure is in for a rollercoaster, and that's all I'll say...**


	7. The End of Hell

**I like this chapter.**

**Like, a lot.**

* * *

"You'll stay until I leave on Monday," Madara asserted over the onigiri Sakura had been forced to make for breakfast. She had been surprised at how well-stocked the house was given that Madara was a male who lived alone. She'd contemplated spitting in his food, but he had carefully watched her make breakfast the entire time.

Sakura waited for him to continue, but it seemed he had nothing else to stay. Quietly fuming, trying to pretend she wasn't terrified, she tried to think up of a plan. Even in her fear-clouded mind, she knew she could not allow herself to get pregnant.

It was a stray thought that led her to her master plan. She was picking at her food dejectedly, not daring to look at the man she hated most of all, when upon staring at the roundness of the cook rice did she remember something that could stop this madness. Abortion was plan A, because with Madara's paychecks she was sure she could somehow afford it. He had seemed to overlook the fact that with all the money she had been paid—none of which had been spent in her so-little free time—she would be able to raise at least a down payment of sorts for the operation.

It was when she thought, _I need to have a plan B_ that she realized a better option.

Plan B was simply put, Plan B.

The little white pill would stop her from getting pregnant, worst case scenario. She could take it up to seventy-two hours after sex, and even if she couldn't manage to get away for even a little while to buy the pill before he released her on Monday evening, she still would have a little under 48 hours to hopefully put her plan into effect and stop herself from true disaster.

Sakura looked down, knowing her expressive eyes would give her away, letting Madara know that she had thought a way around his disgusting plan.

"I…" She floundered for a way to get away for even a few seconds to compose herself. "I—can I use the restroom?"

Madara looked at her, the suspicion in his eyes well-masked, although she could sense that it was there. "You've barely eaten."

At this, Sakura bit her lip to not respond coldly, but failed nonetheless. "I'm afraid I don't have much of an appetite after this morning. I'm sure you can understand why."

Madara looked down his nose at her. "Don't go down that path, Sakura. You will regret it."

Sakura bared her teeth in a mock-sweet smile. "I need to go to the bathroom. Are you seriously not going to let me?"

He looked at her appraisingly. "No. You will wait until I have finished eating."

Mouth gaping open, Sakura felt raging indignity at the gall of this man.

"Fine, then I will just wet myself in this chair," she ground out, frustrated. She just wanted to compose herself; she didn't really need to go to the bathroom. Could he really see that so easily?

Madara nodded his head and took another bite of his onigiri. "And if you do so, I will replace it using your paycheck. I will also not supply you what you will need to clean it up, so it will be up to you to purchase the necessary tools to clean your mess."

Sakura felt tears of fury fill her eyes. Seriously? Was he serious? No one could be that cruel!

"Oh, and you will need to attend a few cooking classes," Madara said calmly as he pushed away his plate. "Your food, while marginally acceptable, will need to be perfected for the future."

Sakura observed that his plate was empty and that he had eaten every last crumb, but when she opened her mouth to comment, one withering glare from him caused her to shut it once more.

"Come. You may use the restroom now. However, be aware that if you lock the door, there will be consequences you do not want to experience."

Sakura hadn't planned on him following her to the bathroom, but supposed that if he raped her again it wouldn't make much of a difference in her plan. She stood and followed him closely as he led her to the bathroom. She went inside, did not lock the door, and immediately turned the water on. She always did that, especially if someone else could hear, because she wasn't too fond of other people hearing her.

With the water on, she stared into the mirror. Her face was normal, but her eyes shone differently than before. As she observed herself, she realized what the difference was.

In her eyes shone how broken she truly was.

Feeling a stress headache coming on, Sakura turned to the cabinet behind her and opened it quietly. She couldn't see Madara getting angry about her taking aspirin, but she also didn't want to anger him and so she was quick.

She grabbed the tiny bottle of small white pills and glanced at it to see that it was aspirin. The cabinet was mostly bare except for this bottle. It wasn't, surprisingly, as she had expected to find some painkiller of the sort on the shelves. No, it was much better.

It was a whole _bottle_ of the pill she had been thinking about purchasing as soon as she got the chance.

_Plan B._

Hastily, she read the instructions and noted how many she was supposed to take. Just one, it said, to prevent an unwanted pregnancy. Heaving a deep sigh of relief quietly—she couldn't let Madara know she had taken this, she would simply make sure that she never got pregnant and he would be none the wiser—Sakura popped open the cap. It was a much-too-loud popping sound, but she figured with the water on Madara couldn't hear it. Sakura poured out about five onto her hand. If he somehow got the idea to rape her again, she would have more waiting to be taken. These would not leave her person under any circumstance.

Quickly, she grabbed the cup by the sink and filled it with water after placing the four other pills down on the counter. She tilted her head back in anticipation of the pill and just as she was about to throw it into her mouth, her hand was jerked violently, interrupting the pill-taking process, and then twisted behind her back painfully. She shrieked fearfully, until Madara spoke harshly into her ear, at which point she began quivering in terror.

"I'm not really sure what I should do with you, Sakura-chan. It seems you've discovered my personal Plan B. It disappoints me, however, that you would be naïve enough to think you could use it against me." He twisted the arm more painfully into her back. "I'm obviously going to have to keep you with me until the pregnancy is confirmed, hmm?"

"No!" Sakura cried, struggling. "Please, don't do that! My parents will worry, they'll call the police! _Don't do that!_"

"I'm afraid that will be my only option. You're not aware of this, but I have been granted two weeks of vacation. Given that much time, I'm sure we'll be able to confirm my wishes."

"I have school!" Sakura said desperately, her only excuse to escape this terrible situation.

Madara twisted her arm even more painfully and she whimpered in fear. "There are many ways to remedy that. I'm sure Sarutobi-san will be most sympathetic to your case."

"What's my case?" she asked, terrified of whatever he would come up with.

"You're pregnant and need a few weeks to gather yourself," Madara said simply. "Meanwhile, you and I will go to my favorite resort in Sapporo to…ensure your condition."

"And my parents?" Sakura asked weakly.

"Work trip. There should be no problem. You _will_ cooperate, won't you?"

The fact that he made it sound like a question made her feel sick. Feeling despair take hold of her, she nodded, knowing there wasn't much she could do in this situation. Her only question was a simple one:

"Why are you doing this?"

She wished she could have seen the expression on his face, but the way he was holding allowed no room for movement. She began trembling when she heard his answer.

"Because I want to."

* * *

Sakura was sitting on the couch in the living room idly, not moving an inch. Madara observed her passively, resting his gaze on her so she would not try to do anything stupid. He knew by the way she sat so rigidly that she could feel him watching her.

Good. She needed to learn to behave.

He wondered when Izuna would be home. He was interested to test Sakura, make sure she wouldn't do anything stupid. However, he knew that if he warned her, she would immediately know that she could use Izuna as an escape route.

As he watched her, leaning against the hallway wall, he brainstormed what would be the best way to threaten her into submission. As admirable as her spirit was, she also needed to acknowledge his authority in this particular situation. Only once she was fully his—when she fell in love with him—would she experience the freedom he would gladly give her. To see her willingly wake up, kiss him, get out of bed to cook breakfast for him and their children, and move about her day as the lovely, strong wife he knew she would be, would be the purest form of joy he could imagine.

Her question earlier in the bathroom had caught him off guard, which surprised him as it was the first time in his life he had been blindsided like that. But of course, he could rely on his Sakura to surprise him at every turn.

Madara hadn't given her an answer he knew she wanted to hear, but it was the only one he would to share with her at the time. It gave him a good reason to think over what he'd done; did he really want a child, a family? He had never considered it as part of his future in the past. He hadn't even wanted to get married, really, although he knew that eventually it would have been expected of him. Often he had thought of ways to get around that, and he'd had quite a few satisfactory answers to give anyone who questioned his lifestyle.

That had all changed when he'd met Sakura.

Now, it was merely a question of how quickly he could make it all happen, how quickly he could make her fall in love with him, bear his children, and be his wife and their children's mother. All reason to not do so had fled his mind the moment he had felt her orgasm around him. The feeling of himself deep inside her had felt perfect, as though it was meant to be. If he had believed in soulmates, he would have most certainly regarded Sakura as his.

Now it was only a matter of making her see it.

To say he loved her would make it a weakness, and it was too soon to tell whether that was the case. But he knew that he would never have done this for any other woman. Sakura was special, and they had a connection that she obviously couldn't see yet.

But he would make her see it.

Her words after their lovemaking in the shower—he had never called it that before, but with Sakura it felt right—had actually disturbed him, however.

_Did it ever occur to you that I will never be happy with you?_

He had experienced a foreign emotion when she'd said that. It hadn't been anger, although it was certainly part of his reaction when she'd said that. It wasn't disappointment, something he was very familiar with feeling around his coworkers and subordinates. It wasn't sadness; sadness was certainly foreign to him, but he'd felt it when Izuna lost his eyesight and so he recognized it.

No, this was something entirely different. Strangely enough, he'd felt pain.

Of course, anger had filled the void near immediately. But it was definitely pain he'd felt when she'd said that she would never be happy with him. It made him all the more determined to prove her wrong, to make that feeling in his chest go away.

"Sakura."

She turned, startled, but the moment her eyes reached his, she averted her gaze.

"What do you want?" she asked coldly. It made him angry to see her act so defiantly when all he was going to ask her was if she wanted some fresh air. It was turning out to be a beautiful day, and he'd felt inclined to go outside, just to enjoy it with her.

So he changed tactics. If she was going to be difficult, he was going to show her that she didn't want to be difficult with _him_. It was also telling that since Izuna wasn't back by now, he was going to be staying for a good part of the day. Uchiha Kimi, who Izuna was staying with, was probably keeping him until after lunch. Kimi knew how much Izuna liked to cook and had probably offered to help him cook lunch. Izuna was kindhearted like that.

"Come with me."

He motioned for her to follow and hesitantly, she stood, her eyes hard.

"Where are we going?" she demanded.

Madara turned and looked back at her frigidly. "Don't test my patience, Sakura."

Despite his earlier thoughts, he was pleased to see her expression turn fearful.

"I-"

"_Sakura._"

At the hard edge in his voice, he could tell she relented. Slowly, she walked over to him. He took her hand and wasn't surprised to feel it trembling in his own. He began to walk towards his bedroom, and just as he entered the threshold, she dug in her heels.

"I'm not going back in there," she said in a very small voice that wouldn't have convinced a fly to listen to her.

Madara never released her hand and looked at her mockingly. "I wasn't aware you found the couch to be so comfortable."

Sakura obviously didn't catch the implication in his voice. "It's better than your bed," she spat angrily.

"Very well then," he said calmly. "We will go to the couch."

"I don't—wait, what?"

Madara had to catch himself before rolling his eyes at her continued naivety. "If you prefer our lovemaking to be on the couch, I'm more than willing to oblige."

Sakura looked at him incredulously. "Is that what they call rape these-"

He was upon her in an instant, gripping her shoulder and whirling her around so that her back was to him, stopping her from finishing her sentence. Just as she was about to scream, he placed his palm over her lips, muffling the cry for help.

"What we do together is whatever you wish it to be, although you will live a very unhappy life if you consider sex with your soon-to-be-husband to be rape. Whatever you call it won't stop me from making you enjoy it, but I would assume that there is much less _guilt_ involved with enjoying lovemaking as opposed to rape."

Sakura let out a muffled whimper and allowed herself to be dragged into his room. He could tell he'd given her something to think about. Her expression said she wouldn't go down without a fight, but Madara felt hot tears collide with the side of his hand and he decided that perhaps she wouldn't be so hard to convince after all.

He laid her down on the bed, forcing her down easily when she began to struggle. The feeling of Sakura beneath him made his cock quiver in anticipation. He removed his hand from her mouth just as he crashed his lips into hers, her breath leaving her with a _whoosh_.

She whimpered out of instinct and he shoved his tongue into her mouth, enjoying her sweet, sweet taste. He forced her tongue to entwine with his, even though she refused to kiss back.

Gripping her wrists, he tucked them under her back so that her trembling body was forced up against his chest. She was shaking now, her heaving chest pressing against his and her hot tears wetted his cheeks as he kissed her. It infuriated him that she was crying again, and his lust transformed into rage.

He pulled away from her and she sobbed, panting for breath. He anticipated a scream so he clamped his hand over her mouth.

"Stop crying, _Sakura,_" he hissed. "Or you will regret it."

At his menacing tone, she froze, looking into his eyes fearfully. The tears did not stop and it occurred to him that she might not have any power over it. Frowning, Madara was determined more than ever to make her stop. He knew she couldn't cry _and_ orgasm, so he knew his next course of action.

He slid the sweatpants Miya had left at his house for her own use, which had been lent to Sakura, down to her ankles, then nudged apart her thighs with his knee. She let out muffled screams into his hand but he pointedly ignored her.

Madara gently parted her lower lips and slowly rubbed her clit in circular motions, stimulating the part of her body that she obviously didn't want touched. She tried bucking her hips to get him off her, but he moved with her jerky, futile actions, using her movement to rub harder and in longer strokes.

He slid his two fingers up and down her womanhood, feeling her wetness even though she herself would not admit to the arousal. He kept moving this way until she was slick enough for him to painlessly slide his finger inside of her.

She whimpered into his hand and bucked her hips when his singular finger entered her. Once he had pinpointed her weakness, the bundle of nerves that would trigger the reaction he craved, he slipped another finger inside of her.

Kami, she was so tight. Sakura's slick walls clenched around him, and it seemed that his cock hadn't widened her up to fit its girth yet. Madara supposed that was a good thing, as it kept her tight around him when they made love. Despite her fruitless thrashing, he pumped slowly, rhythmically, until his fingers were drenched in her juices.

He noticed she had quieted and he smirked, beginning to move more quickly and hitting her spot harder and faster, causing her to writhe and squirm and occasionally buck her hips to meet his fingers. Looking into her eyes, it seemed she was vacant.

She wouldn't be there for long.

Just then, as his hand moved in and out of her, he suddenly realized that this would be an important turning point. All he needed to do was…

The thought came to him and solidified. It was too soon perhaps, but the time felt right.

The right time, indeed.

* * *

Sakura felt numb, even with the pleasure coursing through her veins. It was so very hard to maintain her self-control when he was hitting her so perfectly. She had to strain to stay limp and unmoving, but it still wasn't working. Every so often her body would betray her and thrust to intensify the pleasure that was pooling and coiling in her abdomen.

Madara's hand was still over her mouth, but it was an endeavor contrary to what he wanted on his part. It was only helping her keep the soft moans that escaped her lips muffled, so that she hoped he couldn't hear them. She hated that she had given in, but he knew how to manipulate her body so well that it was uncanny.

He kept tapping her, relentlessly, ruthlessly, until she felt she would explode. However, he wasn't moving quite fast enough, and she knew the tsunami of pleasure lapping just at the edge of her mind wouldn't come until he quickened his pace.

The haze of lust had returned, even though it had receded earlier this morning at a very convenient time, not returning despite that he had forced the pleasure out of her anyways. Now, it was back at full force and ready to force her to do whatever it would take to come.

The words from earlier returned. _Please, make me come_.

After feeling the orgasm earlier, even though not at full strength, made her want it again now that she knew she had no choice. She had been forced into this, she knew, but the haze of lust hid her guilt, her shame, and tempted her with one thing.

_Come!_

The haze of lust controlled her and she lost all inhibitions at the temptation before her. She tried to buck her hips against his finger, but it wasn't enough. She moaned, half-screaming her pleasure, with her eyes closed so as to not see the man who was making her feel this way.

It was as though he could read her want. Madara removed his hand and leaned down to whisper in her ear, "What do you want, _Sa-ku-ra?_"

Panting heavily, she wasn't sure what had come over her. He had stopped moving his fingers and she kept bucking against him, hoping to make the receding pleasure return.

"Please," she begged. He still didn't resume movement. "Please!" Madara removed his fingers, pulling them out of her fully with a final, gentle flick to her clit. She moved her hips upwards to meet his retreating hand. "Please! No!" Desperation filled her.

He pulled off of her and she sat up immediately, mimicking his actions. The haze of lust was still in control, and by now she didn't care. How dare he leave her like this, wanting more! The audacity! He had started it, he had to finish it!

"What are you doing!" she demanded, no longer in her right mind. He had gotten off the bed and was walking away.

"Pull up your pants, Sakura," he told her, not looking at her. She couldn't detect any smugness in his voice, none at all, and she suddenly wondered if he had lost interest. She grew frustrated. She _had_ to come. This was important. How could he just…no!

"Please!" she begged, not complying. "Please, I…"

"Sakura. Put on your pants." He still didn't turn around; he was looking outside the window.

When she realized he really didn't mean to continue, Sakura felt like crying. She had shown so much weakness to this asshole, begged him for more after everything that had happened, and now he was rejecting her.

For some reason, that stung.

Sasuke had always, always, always rejected her. Kiba had been the first guy to ever really take interest, but Madara had been the first to pursue outright. Kami, he had trapped her into a job for six months, taken her virginity by force, told him that he wanted her bear his children, and now he was _rejecting her?_

In her lust-filled, rejected mind, Sakura felt totally unwanted. It was a sick, Stockholm Syndrome way to think, but if her rapist didn't want her, then who would?

The haze of lust was receding, but strangely the pain wasn't. She didn't care about Madara, she didn't want him, or love him, or feel anything towards him other than anger, but even that had been replaced by hurt.

In her lonely heart, despite everything that had transpired between them—the mean comments, the rape, the violence—it was quite the blow that he'd just lost interest like that.

Feeling a hurt she'd felt before—rejection—but on a completely different scale than Sasuke's, Sakura pulled up her pants, still feeling a dull, aching need in her abdomen, and stood.

Madara turned around, a cold look on his face.

"Come with me."

Sakura silently obeyed, stunned when they approached the front door. He was…letting her go? She knew she should be happy, relieved, excited, maybe even a little wary, but all that she could think was, _I'm so stupid. How could I have believed anybody would ever want me?_

They stopped at the door and Madara turned to her, a warning look in his eyes. Sakura looked up at him, trying to school her face so she didn't look like the kicked puppy she felt like. It wasn't because of Madara, she knew, but it was because he'd gone to such great lengths, spoken such huge words, and was now just…throwing her out.

She wondered suddenly if that was what every other girl who had slept with him felt like. Sakura suddenly realized that she had been one of his one night stands, only not by her own choice. It should have hurt less that she hadn't begged for it, but it actually hurt more. He'd acted like he wanted her.

And now he didn't. It was all lies.

Madara opened the door and waved her out. She looked at him, stricken that this was actually happening. She felt very heavy, all of a sudden. Very, very heavy. Her feet didn't want to move.

"I…I don't understand," Sakura said, trying not to let her voice sound so small. She wanted to sound strong, like a woman and not a girl, but she didn't feel like one. She felt like the lonely six year old girl she had been once upon a time, playing on the playground by herself.

"You don't need to, Sakura-san." She stiffened at the way the honorific had been reattached.

"But Madara, I-"

"Madara-sama," he corrected coldly. She saw a slight glimmer of amusement in his eyes and it hurt her. This was just a game to him? Tears stung her eyes but she refused to let them fall.

"Fine, then. I'll see you at work," she said, trying to lash out in the only way she could.

"No, you won't," he said smugly.

Her eyes widened. "But-"

"I may have forgotten to mention the singular loophole. Should an attraction be developed between the employer and the employee, one-sided or not, the contract is immediately nullified."

"How-how could you leave that out-" Sakura demanded furiously. This…no, this was too much pain.

"I knew you would abuse it," Madara said simply. "Would you not have, Sakura-san? You didn't want the job in the first place. And if I recall, you didn't want any of this in the first place." His eyes twinkled mercilessly. "You should be overjoyed that you're being released from this hell, hm?"

Sakura was stunned. He'd forced her through all of this, keeping her in the dark, until he had gotten what he wanted. There was no regard to what she wanted. There never had been.

"Why did you…why did you try to get me pregnant then?" she asked weakly. "Why would you say those things if you weren't serious?"

"Sakura," he looked at her mock-seriously, "You would have never been happy with me, remember? I'm only doing the right thing."

Sakura bit her lip miserably, and the words that came out of her mouth next were unexpected. She could only justify it with the fact that for the first time in her life, despite who Madara was and what he had done to her, she had felt wanted. "What if-"

"Leave, Sakura-san," Madara interrupted her coldly. "My brother will return shortly. He does not approve of my ways," somehow Sakura sensed that he was lying, but she couldn't prove it, "and I would rather not be seen with a twenty-year-old in my home."

Suddenly, Sakura realized that everything Madara had done had been selfish. Everything that she had gone through meant nothing to him. He didn't care about her, he didn't want her, he'd just seen an easy fuck and taken what he pleased.

"Alright, Uchiha-sama," she replied, equally as coldly, but her tone had a tremor in it. "I hope I never see you again," she spat hatefully, "You've ruined my life enough as it is."

Sakura all but ran out of the house to avoid letting him see her cry, and so distraught was she when she caught the bus that she forgot to execute Plan B.

* * *

"Sweetie, what's wrong? Where have you been?" asked Haruno Tsume as Sakura charged into the house, bawling again.

"N-nowhere, m-mom," Sakura said, stumbling over her words. "Just…I n-need to b-be alone."

"Okay, sweetie," Tsume said, concern still etched in her voice. "Your father will be home soon, and we can all have dinner together if you would like."

Sakura nodded mutely and walked up the stairs to her room, then collapsed on her bed and cried miserably. She didn't want to talk to anyone. She just wanted to cry herself to sleep.

And so she did.

* * *

**Interesting chapter, hm?**

**Before you all freak out on me...nah, I won't say it. Freak out all you like, but let me just tell you the next chapter is AMAZING. It's almost finished and I'm in love!**

**To all of you readers of "The Kill" I will be updating that within the next few days as well.**

**Now please, I want to know all your thoughts. Is Madara truly done with her? Is he playing another game? Why is Sakura feeling this way?**

**Complaints are welcome too, by the way. ;)**

**Cheers!**

**~Of Broken Love~**


	8. The Gift

**Okay, so I'm extremely flattered.**

**Apparently, someone who I am extremely grateful to, made his/her friends review until I reached 100 reviews, as per my profile asked for. I am so flattered that a few things are going to happen.**

**1. I want that person to please PM me if you get a chance. I want to say a very personal thank you.**

**2. I'm not only going to update today, but tomorrow as well, as was scheduled. Yes, people, that is two updates in two days. I have never been so flattered in my life. =) A thank you to all who reviewed, whether you were willing or not. ;) This has literally made my day.**

**3. Also, thank you to Queens Dead. She was my 100th reviewer (unwilling though I might add, which is ironic). I also want to specially thank you EVERYBODY WHO HAS READ AND SUPPORTED MY WORK. You guys are fan-fucking-tastic and I am seriously blessed to have such awesome people supporting my story. So everybody give yourselves a pat on the back.**

**This conclude my author's note. Because of what happens in this chapter, I'm going to have a separate author's note at the end.**

**Thank you so much everybody!**

* * *

The next morning Sakura awoke at 5:30, ready to go to work. And then she remembered that she didn't have work and she began to cry again.

She was behind on homework, so she began to study, but all the words went in one ear and out the other. She couldn't stop thinking of the weekend. How could it have gone down the shithole so easily? Just like that and Madara had ruined her life. She had no virginity to give to anybody and she had had her first date ruined. She was miserable and broken and in all truths, she didn't really understand why.

Madara wasn't special to her at all. But he'd made an impact with his words, making her feel wanted and, as sick as it sounded, cared for. It was implausible, she knew. He'd all but choked her in the shower, but for some reason she felt as though it was to make a point, not to hurt her. She couldn't reason with her distraught emotions. She knew she wouldn't tell anybody, ever, about Madara's actions. It would just reopen the deep wound and she simply wanted the pain to go away.

How could he have used her like that? What the fuck? Why had it had to happen to her!

Putting down her math studies, which she had pored over for the last hour, she went back to her bedroom and fell asleep. There she stayed most of the day, sleeping and eating ice cream and wallowing.

She had never felt so terrible in her life.

Tuesday rolled around and Sakura trudged to school. She didn't want to talk to anybody, but she knew she had no choice. Putting up a colder, distant version of herself, she made herself feel okay by simply faking that it was.

"Forehead! Forehead, what the hell! I called you like twenty times yesterday and you didn't answer!" Ino ran to catch up with her, falling into step next to her best friend.

Sakura gave her weak smile but didn't respond to her statement.

"…Sakura?" Ino asked worriedly. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, pig. Just had…" she choked on her own words before schooling herself into not crying. "Had a bad weekend."

"Did the date with Kiba go south?" Ino asked, still concerned.

"Something like that," Sakura smiled, feeling tears gather in her eyes. Trust that stupid Pig to turn her back into the pile of mush she'd been all day Monday.

"Aw, Sak," Ino said, patting her best friend's shoulder gently. "I'm sure it'll be okay."

"I…I hope so," Sakura said, trying to be strong.

She knew it wouldn't be, but that couldn't be helped.

They went to their separate classes and the day passed by without a hitch. Hatake-sensei was somehow easier on Sakura than usual, somehow reading her expression and knowing that she wouldn't be able to supply the overachieving answers she usually did. Umino-sensei had continued to teach about Law & Economics, and Sakura almost blew up in the middle of class when Sasuke gave her a you-should-know-this glare at her for a wrong answer. Sakura just about shoved her fist up his ass, but when Umino-sensei called the class to order, Sakura had simply put her face down in her arms and cried as silently as she could.

Then came class with Kurenai-sensei and that was when the day got interesting. There was a knock on the door and a scared looking young teacher's aide came in, holding a bouquet of pure white lilies and red, red roses. There was a jewelry box in her other hand, both with tags on them.

"Is there a H-Haruno Sakura in here?" the aide asked, stumbling over her words.

Sakura's heart froze for some reason.

Kurenai pointed at Sakura's pink hair expressively. "Yes."

"Th-these are for her," said the aide, frightened at Kurenai's stern expression.

Kurenai raised an eyebrow skeptically. "Sakura-san? Any explanations as to why you're receiving flowers in the middle of a school day and interrupting my class?"

"N-no," Sakura stumbled. "I don't know what's going on?"

Kurenai shrugged lightly. "Sakura-san, take your flowers. Keep them out of sight until you go home."

Sakura nodded mutely and went to take the flowers and jewelry box.

Ino nudged Sakura when she sat back down. Sakura was wide-eyed and numb. Had Kiba done this? No, probably not, but it was worth finding out. But seriously, who the hell would do this? And in the middle of class? Did she have a stalker or something?

"What the hell Forehead!" she whispered furiously. "What the hell happened over the weekend?"

"I don't know!" Sakura said miserably. Kurenai sent Sakura warning look and then continued on with the precalculus equation on the board.

Silently, Ino motioned for Sakura to check the tag. It was blank on both tags, only stating her name and address—which was the school, surprisingly enough. A time for delivery was also there…This was her last class of the day, and it had come in the last fifteen minutes. So obviously somebody had to understand her schedule slightly, because they obviously predicted that she wouldn't be able to carry the flowers around school.

This reeked of something suspicious, and Sakura knew only one person who could possibly know her this intimately.

But why would Kiba do it?

Gingerly, she peeked inside the jewelry box, and immediately had to stifle a gasp, snapping it shut immediately. What the hell…?

She looked again after she'd calmed her racing heart, and then had to start all over again when her heartbeat fluttered in her chest erratically.

Inside the jewelry box was a beautiful white gold ring. Pink sapphire and emerald were both present, the pink sapphire entwining in a spiral around the emerald cut into a diamond cross in the center. With shaking hands, Sakura showed Ino, who would be able to tell if it was real. All Sakura would have to do was look at the expression on her friend's face.

"Look," Sakura whispered, and opened the box.

Ino's eyes widened in shock and her mouth gaped open. That was all Sakura needed to know. "Somebody got the serious hots for you!" she whispered loudly, unable to contain her excitement. "Those are _real!_ Do you know how much pink sapphire costs?"

"A lot?" Sakura asked curiously.

"You bet your ass a lot! Like thousands of US dollars! Don't get me started on the emerald! You've got a guy with money right there!"

Sakura felt weak and as though she might faint. This was not Kiba. Kiba, while having money, would never be able to afford something like that.

The only person she knew who could afford that was…

_He would _never_ do that,_ she scolded herself, ashamed of even thinking that way. She was even more ashamed at how her stomach flip-flopped at the thought. How could she feel this way after…after everything!

At which point she remembered his words about marriage, and she felt nauseated, realizing that she had never taken the pill.

She would only be able to pray now. Luck would have to be on her side. She knew Madara would kill her if he found out. He must have assumed she'd be smart enough to take it after she left.

But then who?

Sighing, she decided there was no way to not try on such a beautiful ring, at least. She tried to force it on her right middle finger, as it was obviously too small for her index finger, but that didn't fit. It didn't fit her right ring finger either, only barely tight enough to be uncomfortable.

She went through the same process on her left hand, and was shocked and suspicious that the only finger it fit comfortably was her left ring finger.

The suspicion that it was Madara reverberated in her head, but she shook it off. His words had been fake, ploys to beat her into submission. Tossing the thought out of her head, she brainstormed who could have done it.

By the time the bell rang and class was over, Sakura still only had one person in mind.

Uchiha Madara.

* * *

She knew it wasn't him, but for her sake, she had to find out. After school, she took her backpack, flowers, and the newly-worn ring and headed to the bus station that would have taken her to her job if she'd still had one.

When she entered the reception area, Risa looked up and smiled at Sakura. "Were you sick yesterday?" she asked sweetly.

"No, I was…uh…well, fired," Sakura said quietly. Risa looked at her sadly.

"Oh, I'm sorry! Well, just so you know, you'll be missed." Risa smiled, obviously disappointed for Sakura, and Sakura smiled the same way back at her. "So, what can I do for you? Here to pick up your things?"

"Kind of. I was hoping to see Madara-sama," Sakura said.

"He's on vacation. He'll be out for the next two weeks."

Alarm bells went off in her head. Sakura remembered the words Madara had told her yesterday and it made sense. He'd meant to take the vacation anyways, apparently. She paled and Risa must have noticed Sakura's expression.

"No worries, Sakura-san. He hasn't left yet. He told me to tell anybody looking for him that he would be in town until tomorrow morning, when his flight leaves."

Sakura looked at Risa and a weird feeling settled in her gut. "Has anybody else come looking for him?"

Risa frowned. "No. But he said you might."

That confirmed it. Sakura felt weak and said hurriedly, "I have to go, Risa-san. I'll talk to you sometime later, okay?"

"Alright, Sakura-san," Risa laughed. "By the way, who's the lucky guy?"

"Huh?" Sakura was confused.

Risa pointed at Sakura's left hand. "You're engaged, aren't you? I saw that engagement ring in the jewelry magazine the other day. It was marked the most expensive and highest quality ring in the world." Risa looked at her playfully, but there was a hint of suspicion. "He must have a lot of money to afford that."

Sakura went white and nodded weakly, quickly excusing herself to catch the next bus to Madara's house.

* * *

Sakura felt sick standing in front of Madara's home. There was nothing but bad memories here. But she knew she had to return, if only for a little while, to confirm that of course, Madara hadn't bought the ring and flowers.

Clutching the flowers in her hand tightly, she steeled herself and walked up the stairs to the doorway. She stood there for almost five minutes before finally raising her hand to knock on the door.

It opened before she could tap it, and in the doorway stood a younger, short-haired Madara.

"Hello, you must be Sakura-san," the man said. His voice was different from Madara's, so he obviously wasn't Madara with a haircut.

_Good,_ Sakura thought. _This man's handsome, but he's not like…_

Sakura cut her thoughts off. No. Fucking. Way. She was here to bitch him out, not compliment him on his long hair. She frowned, feeling nauseated at this strange twister of emotions she was being subject to.

"Yes, that's me," Sakura said suspiciously. "We've never met. How did you know?"

"You smell nicer than the other women my brother brings around here," the man said vaguely. "Oh, by the way. I'm Uchiha Izuna, but you can just call me Izuna."

Sakura nodded, confused and noticing that he hadn't commented on her pink hair, as was most people's first reaction. She looked into his eyes and noticed he was staring right through her.

Her stomach plummeted. He was blind.

"Thank you, Izuna-san," Sakura said politely. "Uh…is Madara-sama here?"

Izuna laughed. "Oh, how rude of me. Please, do come in." Carefully, Izuna stepped away, holding the door open. Sakura went inside, remembering how last time she had been yanked inside. Oh, Madara was going to get it.

Then she wondered if she would really be able to speak to Madara the way she wanted to without making a bad impression on Izuna. She was really, really confused. Hadn't Madara said he didn't want Izuna to meet her, and that was why he'd kicked her out so quickly? None of this made sense.

Madara was up to something, and Sakura was totally in the dark. She had never trusted him to speak the truth in the past, but this was just beyond frustrating.

Frowning, she let Izuna guide her to the table. She noticed he seemed to know where everything is, despite being blind, and she wondered just down long he had been crippled like that.

"So…uh," Sakura said, suddenly feeling awkward. "Has…Madara-sama told you about me?"

Izuna looked at her without actually looking at her, and then leaned forward conspiratorially. Despite that there was no expression in his eyes, Izuna had a playful look to him. "Well, Sakura-san…he would never want me to tell you, but-"

"Izuna!" came Madara's sharp voice from his bedroom. Both of them looked up quickly and Izuna sobered his expression. Sakura's stomach twisted and turned at the knowledge that Madara was actually here.

"You should be the blind one," Izuna called back playfully. "Your hearing never fails to surprise me."

Madara said nothing and didn't come out, obviously busy.

"What's…Madara-sama doing?" Sakura asked, even more quietly this time.

Izuna smiled at her. "I can't tell you. He's listening, of course." Even then, Izuna spoke in a whisper. "Say, why do you still call him Madara-sama? I mean, he's not-"

"Izuna…" came Madara's warning tone again.

Sakura was shocked. Were the walls so paper thin? And why wasn't he coming out if he knew she was here?

Oh, right, of course. He didn't care. But then why was everything else pointing another way?

Sakura went on to answer Izuna's question anyways, speaking loudly to antagonize the man she wanted to hate but couldn't help but feel mixed about. "I call him Madara-sama because that is what he requested when he sent me away. Quite frankly, I didn't think I'd be back here, but I have some questions to ask him…and things to say."

Izuna nodded perceptively. "Which you would rather me not be present for."

Sakura stared at him, surprised. Were all Uchiha this smart? She was confused.

Izuna sighed. "My brother does not have conventional ways of showing that he cares, if you haven't noticed."

Apparently, Madara was okay with Izuna saying this, because he didn't object.

"I'm not sure I've noticed anything," Sakura said coldly. "I always thought he was just a jackass."

Izuna laughed. "Some people…well, I guess, a lot of people get that impression. But he's really just a-"

"Izuna. Do you want to become mute as well as blind?" Madara was still in the other room and Sakura was beginning to get annoyed.

The younger brother laughed heartily. "No, aniki. No worries, I'll be quiet."

Sakura grumbled to herself something about conceited jackasses and decided it was time to simply go to Madara and make him talk to her.

"If you'll excuse me, Izuna-san," Sakura said politely. Knowing Madara would hear, she motioned to the door and punched her fist against her palm. Izuna snickered but motioned for Sakura to go.

She made her was to the door, feeling trepidation as she remembered all that she'd been through in Madara's home. Sakura frowned and then nodded inwardly. She opened the door and then froze, wishing she had simply waited for him to come out.

Madara was topless, not facing her, although he motioned for her to come in. She couldn't ignore how flawlessly sculpted his muscles were. Remembering observing him in the shower, she blanched, but then stabilized her emotions and stood in front of the door after closing it.

"Can I help you?" Madara asked, and it was strange to hear him sound innocent, even if it was mockingly so. He obviously knew she was going to come by.

Sakura frowned, feeling a dizzying mixture of emotions rise in her. Hatred was one of them, need was another. She glanced nervously at the bed, at the spot where she had been tied up. Hatred swelled. Then she glanced down at her hand and saw the beautiful ring sparkling in the sunlight coming from the window on the west side of the room.

"Why?" she asked, suddenly desperate. She knew he would know what she was talking about.

"Why what?" he asked calmly, ignoring her desperate tone. But of course he would make it difficult on her.

"Why _everything?_" she demanded. He still hadn't turned to look at her.

"Elaborate."

"Are you really going to make this difficult? You know what I mean!"

"No, I don't," Madara said firmly. He finally turned and looked at her.

Seeing his toned, Adonis-like chest made Sakura blush and she ducked her head to hide it. She missed the knowing look in his eyes.

"Or maybe I do," Madara continued, and she could hear the smugness in his voice. Growling, she looked back up at him, glaring at him despite the redness of her cheeks.

"Stop playing games!" she ordered, trying to find a position of authority. "I have a right to know what's going on!"

Madara raised an eyebrow. "You have a right to know only what I wish you to know."

Sakura's jaw dropped. "Are you fucking kidding me. You pompous, self-righteous son of a-"

"Now, now, Haruno-san, play nice or you will be forcibly removed from my home."

This was such a rollercoaster of emotions. Sakura supposed that if he gave her the flowers and the ring that it would contradict everything that was happening, but if he _hadn't_ he might not actually know why she was here and she was simply making a fool of herself. The way he made it sound, he didn't care about her at all. In the past four days, he'd gone from Sakura-san, to Sakura, to Sakura-san again, and now _Haruno-san?_ What the hell was going on? Was he playing with her fucking mind?

Sakura shook her head, driving the thoughts away. "I don't even know why I'm here," she muttered. "I just wanted to know who sent this." And she lifted her left hand to show the ring.

She watched Madara's reaction carefully, but there wasn't much to watch. He was completely calm and the mask never faltered.

"Who do you think sent it…Sakura?"

She didn't miss the drop of the honorific altogether, and she didn't miss the way his voice lowered huskily. A shiver went up her spine and she found she couldn't talk. Maybe he wouldn't admit it, but he _had_ bought her the gifts. She wanted to hear him say it, but what if he wouldn't…

He probably wouldn't just to make her uncomfortable.

"Aniki, Sakura-san, dinner will be ready in a bit! Kimi-san just had the help bring it over!" Izuna called from the living room. Sakura vaguely remembered hearing the front door open and close, but she hadn't paid it much mind, given the weight of the conversation.

Sakura had turned her head to listen to Izuna so when she turned back to Madara, she was surprised to find him right in front of her, looking down on her with dark eyes.

She began to tremble, remembering that look from when he'd…raped her. Why had he done it? Things would be so much simpler if he hadn't! She wouldn't be in this mess!

Madara was looking down at her with such intent that Sakura felt the need to take a step back, get some room to breathe. However, he matched her step and gave her no free room. Another step back, another step forward. Another step back, another step forward.

When she suddenly hit the door, Sakura somehow knew that screaming wasn't an option. She was terrified. This was too much like when she had been raped. This game of predator and prey had led to her first real…

All at once his lips were crashing down on hers, and her head hit the back of the closed door. Sakura was quivering, terrified, and didn't move. She felt trapped. Putting up a struggle would mean drama, and she didn't want any more of that. She refused to reciprocate, though.

However, she didn't fight when he bit her lip gently and tugged down, opening her mouth to him. Slowly, he pushed his tongue into her mouth, coaxing her to kiss him back. It was so slow, so gentle, that Sakura's fear diminished, if only slightly. She was confused. Why was this kiss so…sweet?

He pulled away and looked into her eyes. Hers had never closed, unlike his. He was watching her reactions closely, and suddenly Sakura couldn't keep the question on the tip of her tongue from being said.

"Why! Why did you have to rape me? What was so hard about doing it the right way? A date! A movie! Dinner! Something! _Why did you have to do it like that?_" Sakura noticed that tears had begun to stream down her cheeks, but she didn't try to stop him. She wanted answers, real answers that she could think about and accept. He obviously wasn't a professed rapist, and she could no longer regard him as one as much as she wanted to.

Madara looked at her calmly, but there was a hidden emotion in his eyes that she couldn't identify. Maybe she didn't want to identify it. She just wanted the truth.

When he didn't say anything, Sakura felt desperation rise. "You _tricked_ me. You lured me here so that you could do it! What was…what was wrong with…" She sobbed as quietly as she could, looking down because she could no longer make eye contact. It hurt to think about this.

Finally, he spoke. "Sakura. Look at me."

Trembling and in tears, Sakura hesitated. However, she eventually looked up at him, trying to maintain eye contact for as long as she could without breaking down further.

He had moved to sit on the bed, giving her space as she stood by the doorway, his hand resting on the knee lifted up onto the bed and the other in his lap.

"As always, your intelligence impresses me," he began, watching her carefully. She wasn't sure how to take the compliment, but she nodded meekly to show that she had heard it. "I had assumed that someone of your age would no longer be a virgin. I was not." Sakura realized that he was being honest with her suddenly. She could feel the mood shift and she knew she would have to play her cards carefully. She wasn't sure how much it would take to close him up again, but she knew it wouldn't be a lot.

He paused, and Sakura knew she was meant to respond. She complied, trying to make eye contact, "Most of my friends aren't," she admitted quietly. "I was teased…but I really wanted to save it for my future husband."

"And you did," he replied, but moved on from that topic before Sakura could argue with him. "I was not aware that you were a virgin. As I said Sunday morning, it would have happened differently if you had told me."

"But you still would have done it," Sakura said softly. Madara nodded slowly, never breaking eye contact, and Sakura's stomach clenched.

"You are…different, Sakura. The other women I have been with—and as you stated in my office, there have been many—have never been like you. It is, perhaps, a change in motivation." He chuckled darkly at some thought that evidently passed through his mind. "None of the women I have whimsically slept with would I have impregnated—not accidentally, and certainly not purposefully. But you, Sakura, are different, and I have chosen you to be my wife. It is unfortunate that you consider it rape, and I understand that you were frightened, but that was not my intention."

Sakura felt the air in her lungs escape her. He had said…almost exactly what she'd wanted to hear. That she wasn't just another one of his toys. She wasn't a game to him. He actually _wanted_ her, so badly that he had forced himself on her. He hadn't meant to rape her. He didn't look at it that way, but he understood why she did.

"But…why didn't you just…"

"Ask you on a date?" he finished for her. Then he chuckled. "Sakura, you never fail to amuse me."

She glared at him through her drying tears.

He continued, not paying attention to her anger. "Women come to me, Sakura. I do not go to women."

The gravity of his words was not lost on her. Even though he'd said that he did not go to women, he had most certainly come to her. Why? What made her so special?

Sakura looked at him with some sort of awe. "You knew I wouldn't pursue you." _Which is why you forced yourself on me and tried to get me pregnant._ But she didn't say the last part. It was still a fresh wound and didn't need to be prodded too much.

Madara chuckled, not at what she said but at what she wasn't saying.

"Dinner's ready, you two lovebirds!" Izuna called from the living room once more. Sakura went green at the terminology and glared at Madara when he laughed.

"Come. Let us eat," Madara said, standing up and leading Sakura out of the room.

She followed numbly.

* * *

**Now I know all of you who are reading are either A) disgusted with Sakura and/or B) glad she is with Madara again. Well let me say, the next few chapters are revealing and probably disturbing. More will be revealed tomorrow when the next chapter comes out. I'm going to promise only one thing: Sakura isn't as weak as she looks right now. If you're truly disgusted with her, put yourself in her shoes. You might want to get away from Madara as quickly as possible, but he's just showered you with expensive presents and has just played a terribly confusing mind game. She doesn't know what to think, and she's lost. She hasn't told anyone, and she's afraid to because of the publicity it might cause. She doesn't want the world to know she's been raped, and that's very possible given Madara's big name.**

**Just some food for thought. I can't wait to hear your thoughts. Review!**

**Cheers!**

**~Of Broken Love~ **


	9. The Game is Lost

**Sorry everybody, a little late. Had a terrible day yesterday and my laptop was being all wonky. So I'm updating now. Please don't get mad!**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

"Come with me to Sapporo," Madara said calmly. He watched her reaction passively, waiting for her response.

"I…I don't know," she said quietly, not looking him in the eye.

They were sitting at the dining room table after clearing the table. Izuna had prepared the food, so it only been fair that the favor was returned in the way of cleaning up. He had, much to the wounding of his pride, not asked Sakura to do it alone. Normally, the setup was similar, with Izuna preparing food and Madara cleaning up. Usually they bought takeout, as it was easier for Izuna. Madara would never cook, as he refused to learn. That was the woman's job, not the man's, and he wouldn't compromise himself.

Nonetheless, he had carried his own dish out to the large kitchen and showed Sakura where everything was so she could clean up properly. It was as much as he would ever help. Sakura didn't argue as she cleaned up for the three of them, and Madara had been pleased until he saw her glance at Izuna and say, 'Thank you for dinner.' He knew then that she was doing it for Izuna's sake, not his own.

That had annoyed him, but he didn't let it show.

"Why not, Sakura-san?" asked Izuna, who was leaning against the wall between the kitchen and the dining room. "It's a beautiful resort, probably one of the best in Japan. Free massage service, free food service, indoor swimming pools, and you can't forget the hot springs. They're natural and beautiful. Trust me, you'll like it." Izuna smiled genuinely.

Sakura was uncomfortable, that much was obvious. She glanced back and forth between Madara and Izuna.

"Well, I kind of have school…" she replied weakly.

"That is of no concern," Madara said, trying not to sound cold for her sake. She didn't seem to comprehend that she wouldn't be needing it anymore. When—not if—she married him, she would never need to work another day of her life. Her job would be raising the children and being a good housewife, not going out onto the workforce. He wouldn't have it.

Sakura bristled. "What do you mean, of no concern?" she snapped. "I'm never going to get into Tokyo University's med program if I don't get good grades now!"

Madara frowned. She certainly didn't understand.

He would have to show her. Once she was pregnant—which was easily possible by now, unless she'd done something to prevent it—she wouldn't want to do schoolwork anyways. He smirked. If he could just get her to come with him to Sapporo, he could ensure that she would be with child before they returned.

Then she would understand.

"There are plenty of excuses to get out of your obligations, to your parents and to Koei College," he said calmly. Madara then turned to Izuna, sensing a way to convince her. "Izuna."

"Yes, aniki?"

"Do you think Miya would be willing to come along, should Sakura decide not to come?"

Sakura glared at Madara, and didn't see Izuna smirk knowingly.

"I'm sure she would," Izuna said thoughtfully. "She left a couple of messages on the home phone. She wants to see you."

Madara nodded sagely, and looked at Sakura, who looked extremely uncomfortable with the situation at hand. She was all but squirming in her seat.

"Who's Miya?" she asked, sounding like she was trying not to growl.

"An intimate acquaintance of mine," Madara said calmly, not displaying the pride he felt at Sakura's clear jealousy.

"So one of your fuck buddies," Sakura spat. "Yeah, bring her along. She'll be _much_ more fun than me."

Madara saw through the façade of anger and knew that Sakura was intimidated and hurt, but most of all, jealous. It was the response he'd been looking for.

"She's only invited if you don't come," Madara said, maintaining his indifferent demeanor. "You are obviously my first choice."

Sakura looked at him hard, trying to gauge a reaction. Suddenly, a thought clicked in her head, like a light bulb lighting up above her head. Madara was suspicious almost instantly, but decided to see what she said next.

"Can I see the resort we're going to?" Sakura asked politely. Madara smirked.

"Of course. Come, I'll show you. Their website is most impressive."

"Alright."

They headed back to the bedroom, Izuna returning to his own.

* * *

Sakura sat on Madara's bed, feeling uncomfortable but trying not to show it. He turned on the laptop and loaded up the resort's web page.

Hasunohana no Rizōto, or The Lotus Flower Resort, was gorgeous. Sakura clicked open each link in a new tab, wanting to have time to sort through them all and read thoroughly. She read the entire first page, then moved to the page about accommodations, and soon Madara caught on she was going to take a while.

"Don't do anything foolish," he told her. "I will be right back."

Sakura nodded without looking at him. Despite that she felt satisfied in that she was wanted, she still had a terrible pit in her stomach about the whole situation. After all that he had done, was this really going to happen? Was she really just going to let him win like this?

It didn't feel right. They hadn't really engaged in idle conversation, and Sakura wasn't sure that she wanted to. Actually, now that she had gotten her answers—that Madara hadn't just used her—she didn't feel the need to be around him anymore like she had. All the instincts in her told her to run, get away, never see him again, but she couldn't break free for some reason.

That was why she pulled up a search engine and typed in 'Stockholm Syndrome.'

She skimmed, unaware of when Madara would come back, and found that she related on some level to the illness. It stated in no unclear terms that the way it was developed was the victim developed a sense of identification with the aggressor, it made the aggressor less threatening and therefore formed a bond.

Sakura stared the screen, deep in thought, reading the words over and over and seeing how it had happened.

Madara had manipulated her so easily, she realized. He had told her that he hadn't meant to rape her, that he was so attracted to her that he couldn't help himself. While she disagreed with him, she somehow empathized. She knew she would never do what he did, but she understood what it was like to want somebody and be rejected. Sasuke came to mind immediately. He had always rejected her.

Well, hadn't she rejected Madara? Maybe he was just different and since he didn't know she was a virgin, he thought he could convince her to…

_No! No!_ Sakura screamed at herself internally. She couldn't believe she was actually thinking those things. It didn't help that she'd felt so rejected most of her life. Only Ino had really been there for her, picking up the lonely girl at around junior high school, saving Sakura from her teasing classmates. Sakura had never been noticed by any boys, not really, and the fact that she'd always pined after Sasuke hadn't helped. Madara had swooped in, picked her up, and after receiving the ring and the flowers, had somehow embedded himself in her mind. In her heart, she knew she could never feel anything for him.

Then why was she so reluctant to leave?

Sakura knew what she had to do. Quietly, she closed out the Stockholm Syndrome page and closed the laptop. She stood and slipped the ring off her finger and placed it on the nightstand, where not too long ago a pocketknife had been left open after cutting off her dress. She shivered in disgust and went to the door, opening it as quietly as she could.

Madara was leaning against the wall, seemingly waiting for her, a hard look in his eyes.

Sakura froze.

"Stockholm Syndrome," he said in a casual but cutting voice. "It's a twisted thing to be subjected to, hm?"

Sakura froze, eyes widening in fear. She wasn't familiar with the kind Madara she'd seen in the room not even two hours ago, but she knew this one. "I don't know what you're-"

Madara pushed off the wall and stood in front of her, blocking her way. "Yes, my dear, you do. You believe you have it, don't you? My desktop is linked to my laptop. I saw everything you looked at…and I see you're not wearing my ring anymore."

Quivering in terror, Sakura took a step back. Madara followed her with a single step. _Not this again…_ she thought to herself miserably.

Deciding to break the cycle, she tried to bolt around him to get to the front door. Madara was much quicker than her and easily caught her before she passed him by even an inch. She opened her mouth to scream but Madara covered it with his hand, a cold look in his eyes.

"Now, now, don't frighten Izuna. He won't like it if he finds out you're a gold digger, will he?" he commanded icily. Gripping her forearm painfully, Madara dragged her back into his room, shutting and locking the door behind him.

Sakura was confused and she looked up at him with fearful, questioning eyes.

"There are many of them, and Izuna dislikes them greatly. Hatred could be used to describe his emotions towards them. Who knows? Maybe you're trying a new tactic and are going to frame me for rape so that you can sue me for all I'm worth. It would be a great controversy and the media would _love it_."

Tears filled her eyes and her heart pounded in her chest. She liked Izuna, which was a problem altogether, and then if word got out that she was a gold digger—because Madara could easily publicize it if he liked, he was in all the tabloids—it would never work out well for her. She shook her head weakly and let herself be pushed against the bed.

"I'm going to remove my hand and we are going to speak like civilized adults, am I clear?" The threat in his tone cut like a knife.

Sakura nodded, still trembling, and he removed his hand.

"You will come with me to Sapporo," Madara said, his tone still carrying the threatening tone. "There will be no arguments and you will _not_ misbehave in any way. You are to be my wife, and that is final. Now put the ring back on."

Sakura felt cold, and it wasn't the temperature around her. As she hesitated to listen Madara suddenly grabbed her left hand. She let out a whimper and tried to pull it back, but his grip was like iron. When she stopped fighting, he reached for the ring and, grip loosening but not breaking, he gently slid the ring back on her finger.

"I will not tolerate you fighting me on this," he said with finality. "If you continue to resist the inevitable, we will have _problems_. Do you understand me?"

On the verge of crying, Sakura nodded.

"Now, call your parents. Let them know that you will be out of town for two weeks. I don't care what excuse you give them as long as you make it clear that _you are happy_. I will handle the school tomorrow. As I have not officially terminated the contract, you are still my employee."

"But you said-" Sakura could not get more than three words in.

"Tell me, when you went to my office to find me, was anyone surprised that you were there?"

Madara sounded a bit too knowing for Sakura's liking. She mutely shook her head, thinking about how Risa had been unaware that she was fired. In fact, Sakura had had to tell her. _In fact_, she had even asked why Sakura hadn't been at work the other day…which meant Madara was telling the truth.

"As I said, I will handle your educational duties."

Sakura miserably nodded, not even trying to speak at this point. She didn't think her voice would work.

And yet, she couldn't bring herself to hate Madara. She felt she understood why he was doing this, and even though her gut told her this was all wrong, she kept justifying his actions in her mind. She had it, now, she knew it. She had Stockholm Syndrome, and she wasn't sure how she could fight it.

It occurred to her that Madara had won and she had lost. What could she do in the situation other than give in? Her brain wanted her to, her heart begged her to just let herself be loved and told her that if Madara wouldn't nobody else would, and the only part of her still fighting was her gut, insisting that this was wrong and she could get out of it. However, her gut instinct was not enough to convince her logical mind—_there is no feasible way out_—and her desperate heart—_at least someone will love you_—to not back down and keep fighting. The inner war ceased, and even though she felt terribly sick to her stomach because the instinct would not go away that this was all wrong, she knew she had truly lost the game. It had started when he hired her. She had asked him in his office what game he was playing, knowing the minute she walked in that something was wrong. Now she knew the game, and that game had been lost. She could only wonder if winning the game had been even been an option…

…or if Madara had won the moment he decided to play.

* * *

**And the plot thickens...**


	10. The Mistake

**Some of you may not like this chapter. We'll see...but it's how the story must progress.**

**If you don't like it, there's not much I can do...please don't flame! It will be ignored!**

* * *

"I need clothes," Sakura said flatly. She tried not to show her anger at him that he wouldn't let her return home to pick out what she would wear.

Sakura had called her parents, given them a well-thought out but completely bullshit excuse why she wouldn't be home for the next two weeks. They had objected, but as Sakura was of legal age, they couldn't stop her. She had told them she would be by to pick up clothing. They were expecting her, but Madara wasn't letting her do it.

"You will make do with what I buy you," Madara replied, just as flatly. Sakura exhaled harshly, trying to contain her emotions.

"Yeah, and when will that be? Before or after I freeze my ass off in Sapporo?"

Sakura had been a good sport with her loss for all of about two minutes before she was catapulted back into the space she had been in when she first received news of her job working under Madara. The difference was that now, she had no way of knowing when it would end, and she was certain that he wouldn't let her go easily, if at all. Glancing down at her red tank top, blue-black skinny jeans, and the light back hoodie she wore loosely, she knew that this would never suffice for going to the northernmost city in Japan. Balling her hands into fists, she felt like a little girl angry at her daddy for not giving her what she wanted.

At the thought, she felt sick. Yes, Madara was old enough to be her father, and that felt so wrong after all that he had done to her.

"Before," Madara said calmly. "Now hush. I have to make a phone call."

Sakura tried not to pout but her anger was inevitable. Not wanting Madara to see so he could then criticize her childishness, as she assumed he would do, she stormed off to the bathroom. Knowing better than to lock the door—she didn't want him to get angry back at her, because his anger was dangerous—she sat down on the porcelain toilet lid and wept.

The tears came slowly at first, as though they were running out, but then as she thought deeper and deeper into the situation the tears quickened to fall. She cried quietly at first, and then as time passed and her hopelessness grew she cried louder and louder. Around what seemed to be fifteen or twenty minutes of crying, she was surprised Madara hadn't come to find her. She doubted he respected her enough to just leave her be.

Suddenly there was a vibration in back pocket. Her thin phone had gone unnoticed until that point. Startled out of her tears, she saw that Ino had texted.

_Wats up, Forehead? i need help w my hw._

Sakura smiled through her tears at Ino's terrible texting. If she hadn't known better, "hw" would have meant nothing, but it was Ino's abbreviation for homework.

_What class, pig?_

_U no the 1. Precalc. come over_

Sakura's smile vanished. On any other occasion she would have said yes, but she knew Madara wouldn't let her go see her best friend. It would be stupid to even ask and on a worse note, it might make him angry.

Sakura didn't like her forced fiancé being angry at her.

_Can't, pig. Prior engagements._

She waited miserably for the reply. It took longer than usual, so it was probably a rant.

She waited for about five minutes before the reply came, and it was worse than a rant. Sakura buried her face in her hands.

_Y not? Sak, u've ben rly weird lately. Is everything ok? 1__st__ u got that job, now ur not around anymore. Then u get a crazy present skool. U were crying this morning & then u just run off. Wats going on?_

Sakura didn't know how to reply. She had hoped nobody would notice. But it felt wrong to her to lie…so she decided she could share part of the truth. She didn't want to burden Ino but she also really, really needed a friend in this.

_Ino, I'm getting married. I don't know when but I think sometime soon._

It was agonizing to write it down. It made it more real. She pressed the send button with a trembling finger and waited for the response she knew she would get.

She didn't have to wait long.

_WAT!_

Despite herself, Sakura smiled at Ino's text. She could almost see her friend's expression and it would be most comical if not for the fact that this situation was very real. With shaking hands she responded.

_Remember that…man who came to look for the intern at school? Sasuke's relative? Well…_

_Stop fucking joking forehead. This isnt funny._

_I wish I was joking._

Sakura froze, not having been careful with her response. She had already pressed send. _Fuck_.

_Wait…wat?_

Sakura wasn't sure how to reply to this. Ino had obviously picked up on her innuendo; this wasn't her choice. Sakura felt like bashing her head against the bathroom mirror repeatedly until she died of brain damage, blood loss, or both.

She still hadn't responded three minutes later, and Ino texted again.

_Sak…srsly, is everything alright? If u dont want to marry him, y r u?_

Sakura still didn't respond, and after five minutes, Ino grew frantic.

_SAK! Ur scaring me! Talk 2 me! U no u can talk to me! Do i need 2 call the cops?_

Sakura went rigidly, hastily typing out her response.

_No, Ino, don't do that. Please don't do that._

_Sak, im calling the cops right now if u dont tell me wats going on. Forehead, wat the fuck! How could u!_

Sakura was just in the middle of typing out her message to beg Ino not to call the cops when Madara walked in.

"You're been in here for almost forty-five minutes," he commented placidly. He looked calm. Then he noticed the open phone in Sakura's shaking hands and the terrified look she knew she had on her face.

Sakura stood up quickly. "It's not what it looks like, I swear!"

"Really?" Madara asked. "Then you won't mind me looking through your phone." He reached for the cell phone, opening his palm for her to put it in it.

"N-no!" Sakura, putting the phone behind her back.

"And why not?" he demanded. It was obvious he was growing angry.

Suddenly, the phone buzzed again and Sakura froze. "Oh god…" she whispered to herself, but Madara heard it.

"Let me see the phone, Sakura, or you will not enjoy the consequences."

"I'll tell you what it said!" Sakura replied quickly, not wanting him to see the messages directly. Then she would be the guilty one, not Ino. Madara couldn't punish Ino, but he could and would punish her.

"Sakura. Let me see the phone," Madara growled, taking a large step towards her. Sakura turned to run but found herself facing the shower. She did _not_ want to go back in there, so she turned to face him and found him not two feet away.

"Please don't do this, Madara! Please!" She hoped that by saying his name the way he wanted her to say it he would relent.

"This is going to be unpleasant, Sakura, if you don't give me the phone in the next five seconds." He held out his palm.

She hesitated still.

"Five."

This was not happening.

"Four."

Sakura trembled violently.

"Three."

She forgot how to breathe.

"Two…"

Sakura thrust the phone into his hand and then cowered against the shower door. "It was an accident! I didn't do it on purpose!" she cried, tears returning as she raised her arms up to protect herself from a physical attack, even though he'd never done it before. She didn't put it past him.

Madara nodded, only barely acknowledging that he heard her, and began to search her phone. It was obvious when he found her and Ino's conversation, because he raised his eyebrow and scoffed after reading for a moment.

As it progressed, he frowned lightly, but by the time he had finished reading he was scowling.

"Please don't hurt me…" she whimpered in a very small voice.

"You're lucky. Your friend isn't as stupid as her writing abilities seem to portray."

"Ino is not stupid!" Sakura cried defensively, abandoning her fear for the sake of her friend. "She's my best friend and she's helped me more than anybody in the entire world!"

Madara simply smirked, but his eyes were angry. "She wants you to call her, _Forehead_," he mocked. "And instead, you will text her back saying that you are _busy_ with your lover—you know what's I'm insinuating—and will text her when you get a chance."

Sakura turned beet red, both from anger and humiliation. The Forehead comment was completely unnecessary and was actually hurtful to her, and the fact that she was meant to tell her best friend she was having sex was never going to happen. But when Madara gave her back the phone, moving so he could watch the screen as she texted, Sakura did as she was told.

When the send button had been pressed, Madara took the phone from her and pocketed it. "Come."

Shivering, Sakura followed him back into the bedroom.

"Take off your clothes," Madara commanded, undoing his black pants. Sakura blanched and felt sick.

"Please, no…"

"You _are_ aware of what this vacation is for, correct?"

Sakura nodded miserably. It was to get her pregnant.

"Then undress. Unless you want me to do it for you…"

Feeling like a shell, Sakura took off her jacket and began to pull off her shirt.

* * *

He watched her painfully take off her clothing. He became aroused instantly at her breasts, peeking out from under her black satin bra. Madara observed silently as she hesitated before unbuttoning her jeans, slowly inching them down, as if trying to grasp the self-control to do so. What she didn't know was that her lack of speed made it all the more tantalizing.

Madara had to restrain himself from throwing her on the bed and ravishing her, knowing that she wouldn't appreciate it. Not that it truly mattered…but he wanted her to enjoy it. He wasn't sure if she had released the desire he had built in her before telling her to leave on Sunday, but he was certain that even if she had he could reawaken that in her.

Sakura, now only in her bra and panties, looked forlorn and terrified. She didn't make eye contact with him, even after she had stepped out of her jeans. Therefore he took the pleasure in approaching her, noticing her trembling and fear as he moved towards her.

She never made eye contact.

Once he had approached her, he cupped her fearful face in his hands and kissed her gently. She was quivering, obviously frightened, but didn't fight. She was learning, he noted, and it pleased him greatly. Because of her good behavior he decided it would be important to show her the perks of being obedient. Moving one hand from her face, he gripped her thigh and lifted it up and around his hips. She was quaking now, but she still didn't fight.

_Good._

Madara twisted around and sat on the bed, still kissing her as she was forced to sit in his lap. He leaned back, bringing her down on top of him, and finally slipped his tongue into her soft mouth. She whimpered almost inaudibly, and he accepted it with a low, predatory growl. He moved his right hand, which was on her cheek, to her back and pulled her against him.

As their tongues entwined Madara felt whole, even though Sakura's was limp. He thrust his hips against hers and she whimpered quietly again, although a little louder this time. Through his boxers he could feel the warmth of her opening and the heat was calling to him. He wanted—no, needed—to be inside her again. Thrusting against her again, eliciting another weak whimper, he one-handedly undid her bra, causing it to fall around her arms, which were braced on either side of his head. He broke the kiss and flipped them so that he was on top before moving her leg from around him so he could take off her underwear.

Kissing her passionately, he made a final coherent decision before removing his boxers. She would be rewarded—in time. Given that he didn't know whether she still had a pent-up need for release in her, he decided that he would have to strive for more progress with her. She was obeying; now he needed to make her willing, and there was only one way to get Sakura to do anything at this point:

Force her.

He knew to take it slow, so he took off his boxers and moved in between her legs. Sakura whimpered loudly this time, obviously in fear and knowing what would happen next, but he delayed it.

Madara broke the kiss and forced her to look at him by grabbing her chin, demanding her attention. He gave her warning look and she seemed to understand, nodding once with a terrified expression before closing her eyes and turning away. He knew she would not give this response forever, so he ignored it and lowered himself so that he could flick his tongue out and give her pert pink nipple a long, slow lick.

Sakura obviously wasn't expecting the sensation so she gasped, arching her back unknowingly into him. Her brow was furrowed and it was obvious by the torn look on her features that she was warring with herself on how to feel. Never taking his eyes off her beautiful face, he began to suckle her right breast gently, not causing any mix of pain whatsoever; he only gave her the purest form of pleasure.

He enjoyed watching her hold back her whimpers and mewls by biting her lip; she had no idea he was watching her, as her eyes were closed, but it was obvious by how responsive her body was this time that she hadn't reached release since Sunday. Madara decided to nibble the hardened bud lightly, barely scraping his teeth against it, and was pleased to see that her eyes shot open as she simultaneously gasped and bucked her hips. She saw him watching her and her cheeks reddened.

"Please…just get it over with," she begged, leaning up slightly to look at him, and her hands twitched as though they wanted to push him off her.

Madara frowned at her, but his eyes were playful. "But I'm having fun, _Sa-ku-ra_," he replied throatily. "Now lay back down and be a good girl. You were doing _so well_."

Sakura closed her eyes and lay back down. Unfortunately for her, he noticed a tear roll down her cheek. He knew she was hoping it would be ignored, but he wouldn't let it go unpunished.

"Sakura," he growled at her, and her eyes shot open fearfully. More tears had gathered in them. "I am making this much simpler for you than you realize. Do you wish you pleasure me in order for our goal to be met, or would you rather lay back and let it happen?"

She looked at him, dumbstruck.

Madara refrained from rolling his eyes. "I will explain this once because you were a virgin not too long ago." The comment stung, it showed in her eyes, but she continued make eye contact. "No matter how attractive a woman is, there is almost always necessary stimulation that makes the entire…game," he smirked at his choice of words, "more fun. You _are_ aware that pleasure is a two way street, correct? If you remain unresponsive, I will eventually lose interest in you and you will please _me_ instead. Understood?"

Sakura looked stricken. Her face was pale as she processed what he said. He hadn't sugarcoated his meaning at all, which must have been hard for her, but he wasn't going to make it easy on her simply because she was inexperienced. This was life, and this was how it was.

"Then why do it at all?" she rasped weakly, more tears filling her eyes. "Please…you know I don't want this…why are you doing this?"

"You will want it in time," Madara told her, his tone insinuating that this was not a matter of discussion. "I think I preferred it when your mouth was closed." His tone was cold and Sakura's eyes widened and she tried to twist and scramble away from him, but he looped his arm around her waist and before she could scream, covered her mouth with his hand. Her legs were parted wide enough that he could easily thrust into her and he did so, finding that she was much wetter than her response had portrayed.

The electric shock that traveled through his body as her slick heat caused him to very nearly lose his calm and begin thrusting like an animal, but he pulled himself back from the brink and moved slowly at first. She was whimpering weakly into his hand but he ignored her reaction and paced himself, enjoying every time her walls clenched down so tightly around him.

He found the spot that pleased her so well and began to target it, thrusting hard and relentlessly against her. Her whimpers turned into wanton moans within minutes and he was certain now she had not masturbated away the pent up sexual tension from Sunday. Madara removed his hand from her mouth and crashed his lips down onto hers, forcing her tongue to dance with his.

She whimpered and moaned into his mouth, body not moving directly against him but certainly quivering with arousal and her walls were clenching around his cock, bringing him to the edge almost instantly. However, he was a man of great sexual prowess and wouldn't let a young woman like her make him come before she did.

Not after such splendid progress.

* * *

After Madara's manhood had entered her, Sakura knew the fight was lost. However, she hadn't expected him to suddenly hit the bundle of nerves that triggered the haze of lust and she found that it came back like a deadly fog at night, obscuring all view of the future or past and putting her into the present, where pleasure was rolling over her in waves.

Moans came from her throat in a voice that was not hers and it was all her sentient mind could do to prevent herself from grabbing his hair and thrusting back against him. Whimpering wantonly, she felt her resolve slowly breaking as wave after wave of ecstasy crashed over her. She was weakening quickly and she needed to either find her release so that the haze of lust would leave her and she could regain control or she needed Madara to stop assaulting her senses so violently. The latter wasn't going to happen, so Sakura submitted to the need, all sentience banished.

She gripped his shoulders lightly, kissed back tentatively, but began to meet his rhythm with her hips as quickly as possible. Suddenly, she felt him slowing, teasing her, and she tried to make him move quickly again. No, the haze needed to leave! He couldn't intensify it like that! No!

"Ask, Sakura," he told her, pulling away with a dark, playful look in his eyes.

Sakura didn't hesitate. "Please make me come!" she begged, not hearing the desire in her voice. She was justifying this with the knowledge that once she came, he would come, and it would be over.

He began to piston in and out of her, making her moan loudly and writhe underneath him, bucking her hips and mewling with need.

Suddenly, within the haze of lust the tsunami of pleasure crashed over her. She screamed, not caring who heard, and he sped up to an almost inhuman pace until her pleasure subsided and she slowed.

The haze of lust receded, but not as much as she would have liked, although enough for her to notice that he was still going, had not come, and was continuing to target her bundle of nerves.

What she also took the time to notice was that the pleasure from his manhood touching her had intensified even more so and it felt like her body was on a hot, pleasurable fire. Every sense was tingling and heightened. He was assaulting them so perfectly now, with his fingers tweaking her hardened nipples, her g-spot pinpointed and constantly being thrust against, and his lips and tongue massaging her pulse point, that before she could think a truly coherent thought the pleasure was tumbling over her again, her body having spasms and her legs giving out from underneath her. She no longer had the energy to move against him, and yet he kept going.

Eons later, or so it felt, Madara came inside her. Sakura had lost count of how many times she'd been brought to the peak of pleasure, but it was more than five, although probably—she hoped—no more than ten. She had lost count at six, but he had kept going until her body was so sensitive that she nearly starting crying tears of pain and pleasure combined. It was only then that he came, and she was so sensitive by then that she felt the hotness of his seed inside of her so acutely that it actually burned.

Sakura was so exhausted she couldn't think. She didn't have the energy to feel dirty, broken, guilty, or anything—all emotions were cut off and she was numb. She blearily looked at the clock on the wall. It was past ten at night. Shivering but with no identifiable emotion, Sakura weakly crawled over to the side of the bed she'd initially slept on and collapsed, asleep immediately.

* * *

Madara watched his petal-haired beauty fall asleep almost instantly. The sex had been amazing, more amazing with her than any other woman he had been with. Feeling her around him, hearing her cry out to him, _for_ him, had left him more satisfied than he had ever felt in his entire life.

He felt an odd emotion fill him; genuine affection. After cleaning himself off, he walked over to the other side of the bed to where she slept. Checking to make she was truly asleep—it wouldn't do for her to see him like this—he located the spare blanket under the bed and laid it gently over her. He justified it with if she woke up in the middle of the night because she was cold, she might think to leave while he was asleep. Of course, he couldn't have that, so he locked the door with a key instead of by pressing the button on the handle.

As Madara laid down next to her after shutting off the lights, he knew the true reason why he had gotten the blanket for Sakura. She wasn't so stupid as to think she could run—that wasn't it at all. He knew the reason why, and he hated to admit it to himself.

It was because he had genuinely wanted her to feel comfortable lying next to him.

* * *

**The next chapter will be up as soon as I write it. =)**


	11. The Light of Hope

Upon awakening the next morning, there was no momentary 'where am I' questioning. Sakura knew the bed she was in and the memories from last night crashed down upon her in a tidal wave of horrific images. She was so shocked at how she had behaved the night before she went mentally numb, but her body still felt the overwhelming turmoil of terror, self-loathing, hatred for Madara, anger at the situation, disgust, guilt, and shame. She wasn't sure she could ever look in the mirror again. She couldn't bring herself to open her eyes once they closed, even when she felt hot tears rolling down her face and quickly drenching the pillow beneath her.

She wanted to die. This was horrible. How could she have acted that way…? The guilt and shame were too much to handle and before she could control herself, she was hurtling out of bed, running to the bathroom, and barely making it to the toilet before vomiting.

Sakura didn't care if she woke up her hated fiancé. All she knew was that she needed to clean herself, get rid of the dirty feeling. She quickly turned on the shower, not bothering to regulate the temperature to provide comfort, and stepped into the burning hot shower. She cringed at the pain from the hot water, but immediately set to work scrubbing her body with the unused bar soap on the ledge of the shower. She cleaned every inch of her body at least three times, determined to get rid of everything that was Madara.

Finally the pain of the heat and its contact with her raw skin made her step out of the shower. Her pale skin was now a blotchy red from the cleaning and the hot water, but she felt just a little bit better now that she was free of Madara's touch.

She realized she didn't have any more clothing. Frowning, she wrapped a towel around herself and sat on the toilet, not daring to look in the mirror. She was afraid of what she would find.

Fearfully, she waited for Madara to come in. He would have obviously been woken by her actions, but after a long time of waiting, nothing happened. Terrified, she walked over to the door and peeked outside.

Neatly folded on the ground were a full set of clothes. Sakura felt her stomach flip flop. Why was he being nice? Or perhaps Izuna had done this. No, that sounded a lot more like what had happened. Of course, Izuna _had_ to have thought to do this.

Maybe Madara had put him up to it, but the elder brother would never actually do something so simple and kind. She knew what the flowers and ring had been for, now; they had been to bring her back to him. That was all. There couldn't have been any good intention behind it.

There never was, not with Madara.

With shaking hands, Sakura reached down and took the outfit, retreating quickly into the bathroom. It was simple outfit of a black long sleeved t-shirt with a V-neck and pale grey skinny jeans, with black underwear and a black, perfectly fitting bra that _wasn't hers._ The tags were all attached, showing that they were newly bought. Suddenly Sakura realized that maybe Madara had gotten someone to go shopping for her in her short absence. Frowning but otherwise trying to show no emotion, she donned the clothing and exited the room.

She was surprised to find that Madara wasn't present in the room. The bed was neatly made on both sides, which meant someone had fixed it up. She took note of two fully packed suitcases leaned up against the wall. One was black and the other was pink, very similar to the color of her hair, which made her blush. Was she really supposed to walk around pulling a suitcase that matched her already embarrassing hair?

Apparently so. She couldn't bring herself to scowl. The terrible emotions from last night were still running rampant through her body, even though they had toned down a little bit. Frowning, Sakura walked over to the suitcase she knew was hers and placed a hand on the exterior, trying to feel how full it was.

Just by touching it she could tell it was bursting. An uncomfortable feeling settled in the pit of her stomach. Had he bought all that for her? Oh, Kami, this was just making it more obvious how very serious all of this was.

"Sakura-san! Are you up?" called Izuna through the bedroom doorway. Sakura hadn't noticed it was open until just then.

"Yes, Izuna-san, I'm awake." She didn't mention that she'd awoken before Madara, feeling ashamed suddenly. Had he heard her screaming last night? Of course he had, given that he was blind his other senses would have been extra keen. She let the tears gather in her eyes, knowing Izuna wouldn't see them anyways.

Izuna walked into the room and Sakura noticed how his hand followed the wall. Apparently he didn't know Madara's room well enough to navigate without caution.

"Are you okay?" he asked, leaning into her personal bubble to look unseeingly into her eyes. His nose twitched and he frowned.

"Uh, yeah. I'm fine," Sakura said, trying to sound genuine.

"Are you sure?" he asked. "I can smell your tears."

Sakura went rigid. So _that_ was why his nose had reacted.

"Eh…" she laughed lightly, silently wiping her eyes. "I'm fine. Tears of joy. I'm so…happy." She had to choke the words out and she knew it wasn't convincing in the slightest.

"Well, you know you can always talk to me," he said with a warm smile. "We're going to be related soon, at least by law, so it's only right we have a relationship."

It was then that Sakura realized even more clearly that Izuna was a very kind soul. He didn't even know her and he was so kind, so sweet. The affection he was showing her was unwarranted. He had no need to be so kind to her, and Sakura was touched.

Before she knew it, she threw her arms around Izuna. He stiffened, not expecting it and not just because he couldn't see her, but didn't take too long to return the hug. Sakura quite suddenly broke down.

"It's okay, Sakura-san," he said softly, patting her back. Sakura knew he could feel her sobs against his chest. "I'm sure it will be alright."

She said nothing and buried her face into the practical stranger's shoulder, her tears wetting his white shirt. She gripped him tightly. Sakura would have never expected herself to act like this, so desperate and weak, but for some reason it felt okay…scratch that, she suddenly realized. It felt right, for some odd, very strange reason.

"Thank you, Izuna-san," she said through her sobs, muffled into her shirt.

Izuna laughed a little awkwardly. "It's okay, we all need someone to rely on sometimes."

Sakura pulled away slightly and smiled, even though he couldn't see it. "No, really. Thank you." Going on the sudden spark of emotion in her heart, she leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek.

She felt him tense immediately, for real this time. As soon as she pulled away, she realized what this looked like. His brother's fiancée was kissing him, albeit on the cheek. Sakura could have slapped herself.

"Sorry," she said softly. "I don't know what I was-"

"It's alright, Sakura-san," Izuna replied, a little stiffly. "I'd better get going." Izuna turned around and then paused hesitantly. Sakura suddenly realized that as he'd approached her, he'd lost contact with the wall.

"Come on, I'd better get breakfast," Sakura said, wanting an excuse to make up for her actions by guiding him out. She took his hand and helped him out of Madara's room.

Sakura froze, paralyzed by the sight of Madara only a few yards outside the bedroom. Had he seen? Oh, this day could not get _any_ worse.

She saw Izuna blush and she mentally cursed what had happened. "Hello, aniki," he said, but the nonchalant tone of voice showed Sakura that he was at least attempting to cover for her. "Do you need help preparing breakfast?"

"That's quite alright, Izuna," Madara replied coolly. Sakura knew by the way that Madara was regarding Izuna aloofly and her furiously that he'd seen what had happened. "Sakura, come with me."

"I-I need to eat breakfast!" Sakura replied shrilly, terrified of what might be coming next.

"That can wait," Madara said, his calm tone belying the fury just beneath the surface.

Sakura shivered and gripped Izuna's hand tightly, which she had forgotten to release in her shock. This must have relayed something to Izuna, because the younger brother stepped in.

"Forgive me, aniki, but don't you think Sakura-san should have breakfast first?" Izuna asked curiously, simultaneously easing his hand from Sakura's grip.

Madara raised an eyebrow at Izuna, who could not see, but the shock was clear. Had Izuna never stood up to Madara before? It was an interesting, if not depressing thought.

If it was true, Sakura was flattered.

"Very well," Madara said, anger thoroughly hidden. He pointedly took Sakura's wrist in a death grip and led her to the kitchen. She grit her teeth at the tight hold he had on her. "Find something to eat, and eat quickly. We depart for Sapporo in an hour."

Sakura nodded numbly and began to search the cabinets for food as though she lived there. She was shocked Izuna had helped her like that. Maybe he could be an ally. Madara didn't seem to want Izuna to know what was truly going on between them, so maybe he would help her.

That was unlikely, though. Izuna had shown kindness, but it was obvious he stood by his brother at all costs. Sighing, Sakura pulled out a box of American cereal and began to eat it dry, not hungry enough to have a full bowl of cereal.

In truth, breakfast at this point was mostly to deter the confrontation Madara had waiting for her. Sakura ate until she thought she might vomit and then finally had to accept that she would have to face Madara.

Terrified, she put the cereal away and sat back down at the table, not willing to go find her fiancé herself.

From the corner of her eye she saw Madara enter the small dining area. He stood there and she looked at him, trying not to appear too afraid. He nodded and beckoned her, obviously expecting her to follow, and she did.

There was no way this could end well.

Madara was furious. No, that wasn't a strong enough word; there wasn't one to describe what he felt at that moment. Rage had filled him upon seeing Sakura embrace his brother, and then to see her kiss him? Intolerable. He had seen that it wasn't on the lips, but the outward, _willing_ affection towards a male other than himself was _unacceptable_, and he would make sure that she knew it.

He led her outside, to the backyard, which wasn't much more than a patio. Cornering her, he waited for her apology. She was learning, because it didn't take too long.

"I'm sorry!"

There was desperation in her voice, but it wasn't genuine. She didn't regret kissing Izuna, that much was obvious.

"Are you sure, Sakura?" he growled, letting some of his anger show through the depth of his voice.

She hesitated. He could see the thought process in her head; she was gauging his reaction to the responses she could possibly come up with. It occurred to him then that he might surprise her, keep it unpredictable.

"Yes," she finally settled on. The blatant lie, which she may or may not have known was obvious, angered him further, but he did not yell at her.

Madara stepped forward and pulled her into a gentle kiss. Sakura squirmed, but he did not attempt to invade her mouth; he simply chastely kissed her on the lips, imitating how he'd seen his brother kiss his first and only girlfriend.

Finally, Sakura went limp and let herself be kissed. Madara pulled away staring deep into her eyes. She averted her gaze ashamedly. The fact that she had not responded had annoyed him, but the way she was staring off to the side as though she'd wished she wasn't there infuriated him.

"Sakura," he said pleasantly, masking his true emotions.

She looked at him, visibly trembling and not trusting the change in his voice.

"Tell me, how long have you lusted after my brother?"

Sakura reacted immediately with anger. "You think I'm lusting after him?" she snapped, some of her previous strength that he'd so fallen in love with returning. "Is it so wrong for someone to respond to kindness with kindness? Oh, I guess you wouldn't know, would you? You've never been kind to anybody in your life!"

Madara raised a hand to silence her, but she was done. "You are to avoid him, do you hear me? I will not tolerate _infidelity_ in my home."

Sakura looked at him incredulously. "Are you so fucking insecure that me giving your brother a friendly kiss on the _cheek_ actually threatens you?"

"Sakura," he said warningly. "My word is law, and you will obey it."

She opened her mouth to respond, but he looked at her hard.

"Hold your tongue," he commanded.

She glared at him, obviously wanting to say more, but knowing by the tone of his voice not to push it.

"Go grab our luggage. We are leaving."

He knew he was treating her like a slave in her eyes, but this was what women did. He admired her spirit, but she needed to be tamed. Frowning, he led her inside and motioned to the bedroom. Sakura glared at him before going to the bedroom.

"I hate you," she hissed before going to the bedroom.

Madara felt a pain seize his heart at her words but ignored it. He was so preoccupied with his own emotions that he didn't see Izuna listening from the kitchen, nor did he see his younger brother retreat to his room to speculate as to what was going on.


	12. The Loss

**This is a somewhat depressing chapter...**

**=(**

* * *

Izuna placed his hand over the phone in his lap. What he was about to do was unethical, that was for certain, but his brother's fiancee's reaction throughout the day was alarming and for some reason he didn't feel good about letting her go to Sapporo with his brother for two weeks alone. The way she'd told him she hated him with such genuine passion had made him question the situation, not to mention the way she broke down in Madara's room, her odd behavior, and the way she'd squeezed his hand when Madara had shown displeasure at the situation.

He told himself firmly it had nothing to do with her sweet scent and melodious voice.

Picking up the cell phone with determination, he pressed the voice command button and called Uchiha Kimi, who he had been designated to stay with when Madara's vacation came. She was the only Uchiha who could take someone in on such short notice.

"Hello?" came the elder woman's voice across the phone.

"Kimi-san, it's Izuna. I have a favor to ask you."

"Of course, Izuna-kun! Anything!"

He felt bad that he barely told her any of the truth, substituting lies where he had to. It wasn't in Izuna's nature to lie, but he wasn't certain what was going on so he didn't want to assume too much. He told her that he wanted to go to Sapporo to be with Madara and his new fiancée, which was about as close to the truth as it was going to get, and asked her to back out of taking care of them so he could accompany them.

"Are you sure it will be okay with Madara-sama?" she asked, but not suspiciously. She trusted Izuna implicitly, he knew.

"Well, it will definitely surprise them, but I can't see it being a bad surprise," Izuna outright lied. He knew Madara didn't want him coming, but that couldn't be helped.

"Oh, well, alright then." He could hear Kimi's warm smile over the phone. "Tell him I just realized I have other plans and do what you need to do."

Izuna nodded. "Thank you, Kimi-san." His own warm smile was present.

Standing from his bed, Izuna felt his way over to the entrance. He smelled Sakura walking by him and he said tentatively, "Aniki?" He wasn't sure if Madara was present, but if Sakura was there, Madara probably was too. He knew they were about to leave for the rented private jet.

"Yes, Izuna?" Madara's tone was still cold, far away though so he was probably near the door.

"Kimi-san just told me that something came up in her plans. I'm not going to be able to stay with her the next two weeks."

Izuna immediately felt a bad vibe all around the room, except from where the general area Sakura was. Hers wasn't a bad vibe at all.

It was a vibe of pure relief and he knew he'd made the right decision.

* * *

The flight to Sapporo was rather unnecessary, in Sakura's mind, but she felt that Madara had been too proud to ride the train like everyone else. She wasn't complaining exactly, no, because Izuna was here. When Madara had told her about the private jet she'd been afraid of being alone with him in a place he could easily take advantage of her because no one would be around.

Then again, she had been terrified of the entire trip with Madara, no questions asked. She'd been feeling queasy up until the point where Izuna had told them Uchiha Kimi had backed out. Now, Izuna sat next to her, and she sat next to Madara, on the spacious couch presented to them. There were several seats across the way, which were solely used for landing and take-off. Once they reached the proper altitude they were free to roam around the cabin as they pleased.

There was a mini-bar off towards the back of the cabin, where many different types of drink and alcohol were served.

Izuna had his blind cane next to him, leaning against his knee, and was reclining comfortably against the couch. Madara was sipping a glass of wine, constantly eyeing Sakura and making her feel uncomfortable. However, she knew he could do nothing to her with Izuna present, and that made her feel safe and strangely indebted to the blind man.

Sakura had a nagging suspicion as to Izuna's presence. It seemed strange even to her that at the very last minute, the person he was meant to stay with would have backed out. It was perfectly timed; just as they were about to leave, Izuna had suddenly been able to come along. Madara had been very unhappy, she could tell, and if it were not for the fact that there was no time to find someone else, Sakura knew he would have left Izuna behind. Nonetheless, Madara had told her to pack for Izuna—while Izuna stayed in the living room with Madara—and they had only been fifteen minutes late for their flight. Since it was a private jet, there had been some flexibility, and here they were.

"I will be right back," Madara said suddenly, placing his wine down on the small table the couch was situated around. He gave a meaningful look at Sakura and she nodded, the nauseated feeling returning. She knew she was to avoid Izuna, but she also knew that wasn't going to happen.

As Madara went off to the back, Sakura turned to Izuna. She glanced back over her shoulder with caution before speaking, wanting to make sure her despised fiancée was truly out of hearing range.

"Izuna-san," Sakura said quietly, still wary of Madara's listening skills.

"Yes, Sakura-san?" He didn't turn to face her, but his attention was on her.

"The person you were staying with didn't really back out, did they?"

Izuna visibly stiffened very slightly, barely noticeable but Sakura caught it. "Of course she did," he replied, but the defensiveness in his voice was telling. He was hiding something.

"Oh, okay." Sakura backed down, but hadn't given up completely.

"Why do you ask?" For some reason, he wasn't dropping the subject, which made it easier to pry.

"It just seemed a little…I don't know…convenient that they back out right before we left. And after…" Sakura trailed off, suddenly feeling uncomfortable. She didn't want to revisit her embarrassment.

However, Izuna smiled. "Are you insinuating something, Sakura-san?"

Sakura huffed, then surrendered to her thoughts. "Why did you want to come?"

There, it was out. She assumed, perhaps misguidedly, that Izuna actually _wanted_ to come. Now she realized it was rather conceited, as she'd filled in the blanks so naively. There was no reason Izuna would want to come, she realized. He probably really had been ditched and had had to come whether he liked it or not.

"Everyone needs a protector sometimes," Izuna said mildly.

Sakura was stunned that he was that intuitive, not to mention the fact that he had answered at all. She looked at him hard, forgetting that he wouldn't see it, and she said quietly, "Who exactly are you protecting?"

"My, my, haven't you two gotten close?" came Madara's fake jovial voice. Sakura could feel the fury at her disobeying him, but he couldn't say anything about it because it would be right in front of Izuna. He sat down where he had been before and, taking Sakura's wrist not-quite-gently, he pulled her to him. She stiffened but said nothing, wishing that Izuna could respond but knowing that he wouldn't.

"We were just talking, aniki," Izuna said calmly, continuing to smile. Sakura realized that Izuna really was a great liar when he wanted to be, despite his genuine aura.

"I see," Madara said. He placed his arm around her and pulled her close, whispering into her ear, "You're treading on thin ice, _Sakura_. I would be very, very careful if I were you."

Terrified and yet feeling secure because Izuna was there, Sakura nodded.

The flight went on without a hitch and all Sakura could was, _Thank god Izuna is here._

* * *

Madara was truly perturbed that Izuna had somehow caught Sakura's attention. She had kissed him on the cheek only, perhaps, but of her own volition, and then she had disobeyed him directly by speaking with Izuna when he wasn't present.

He frowned inwardly at the situation, and then reminded himself that Sakura was going to bear _his_ children. She was _his_ and _he wasn't sharing_.

The man could tell Izuna cared for Sakura, but he couldn't bring himself to believe it was the way Izuna also cared for Miya. It seemed different and this was putting him on edge.

So, he tightened his grip around her shoulders and held her close to him as they rode in the taxi cab to the resort. She was as stiff as a board but he said nothing. Perhaps he was too hard on her.

Then again, she always asked for it.

He sighed minutely so that no one heard. Relationships were difficult, but he wouldn't let her go. Not when he was on the verge of falling in love with his pink-haired beauty. Madara almost smiled. She was everything he'd always hated in a woman, and now here she was; about to become his wife.

He had never felt more content.

They arrived shortly at the resort and he saw Sakura's eyes widen at the beautiful sight. Madara himself wasn't too impressed. Then again, Madara had been there too many times to count over the years and so he was used to the Westernized art combined with traditional Japanese structure, as many Americans and other foreigners came to visit.

There was a small river that surrounded the grand building, which was full of koi flitting to and fro around through the moat-like scenery. There were several arching wooden bridges over the miniature river. He, Sakura, and Izuna stood in front of the main bridge, which was seven feet wide and ten feet long. The taxi cab driver had parked and was toting their luggage behind them as they approached the large resort.

As they continued forward, he could see Sakura gasping and sighing over the greenery. There were lotus flowers everywhere, a tribute to the name of the resort, and she seemed intent on touching every single one, cupping them in her hands. Something niggled in his heart and he recognized it as adoration, seeing _his_ woman moving to every lotus and whispering to it kindly. _This_ was the woman he was to marry. He knew as the warmth in his heart grew that he had made the right decision.

"Izuna-san, there are so many flowers!" she cried. Madara's heart turned to ice once more, filled with jealousy. She hadn't addressed him; she had addressed Izuna. He had to refrain from gritting his teeth.

"I'm sure there are many, Sakura-san," he said with a laugh. He was oblivious to Madara's foul mood. "There were many when we were last here, and I'm sure there are just as many now."

"You've been here before too?" she asked excitedly as they made their way up the wooden steps to the main entrance. "When?"

"Izuna and I have been here many times," Madara cut in coldly. Sakura glanced at him and froze, her eyes widening when she noticed the telltale signs of his temper rising. Madara motioned for her to come over to him and she did so hesitantly. When she was within reaching distance he took her wrist and pulled him to his other side, the one away from Izuna.

They approached the front desk and Madara took charge. "I have a reservation for Uchiha Madara. We have also decided to bring my brother. He will need a room near ours as he is handicapped."

He felt Sakura stiffened when he so carelessly called Izuna handicapped. Madara refrained from rolling his eyes. He was, wasn't he?

The woman at the front desk nodded. "Of course, Uchiha-sama," she said politely. "We will relocate you to the second floor executive suite. Adjoining it is a second room in which your brother can stay."

Sakura butted in. "Shouldn't he stay in the same room as ours, just to make sure he'll be okay?"

Izuna laughed. "Sakura-san, I'll be fine. I'm not an invalid."

Madara glared at Sakura inconspicuously to let her know his displeasure. He knew what she was trying to do; evade the purpose of this vacation. They could not very well sleep together if his brother was present.

She cowered from him slightly, but something in her seemed to snap into place in her mind. "Izuna-san, are you sure? Won't you be lonely?"

Madara immediately saw Izuna melting at Sakura's insistence and he was powerless to stop it in this situation.

"One moment, please," Madara said to the receptionist and he pulled Sakura aside.

She had not expected this and he could practically feel her fear as he cornered her.

"Do _not_ test my patience, _Sakura_," he said, letting his low voice growl out. "You will _sorely regret it_."

Sakura hung her head and nodded. Her body was trembling.

They returned back and Madara resumed his pleasant façade. "We will take the room as previously described," he said. Izuna nodded and Sakura nodded as well with a weak smile on her face.

"Great! Here are your room keys. The woman passed it into their outstretched hands, Izuna's slightly bumping on the counter when reaching for it. "Have a nice stay!"

They left with a "Thank you" and continued to their rooms.

* * *

Sakura was dreading the moment they parted with Izuna, and it came all too soon. Madara stepped outside to have a word with Izuna and make sure he adjusted alright while Sakura nervously looked around the room. It had many lamps and furnishings, but what really caught her eye was the singular king-sized bed. It was similar to Madara's and Sakura felt sick looking at it.

The door opened and Madara strode in. She stiffened and instinctively backed away. He continued to approach her with a hard look on his face and she panicked.

"Please, I'm sorry!" she cried, raising her hands up in defense.

"Calm yourself," Madara commanded. He captured her wrists and brought them down to her sides before pulling her into him. "Do not forget why we are here."

"Please! Please, Madara, I really don't want to-"

He captured her lips and shoved his tongue into her mouth, silencing her. Sakura felt tears gather in her eyes, but she could do nothing. She could scream, but she had a feeling that would be highly unproductive in the sense that she would be in _a lot_ of trouble if nobody came to help her. The risk wasn't worth it.

He guided her to the bed, still kissing her, and forced her down on it. She whimpered into the harsh, angry kiss and he drew back. His eyes were blazing.

"Apparently, my dear, you need to be reminded of whom you belong to," he growled.

Sakura wanted to argue with him, to tell him that she belonged to nobody except herself, but knew that it would be a futile argument. Madara wouldn't listen to her; he never had.

He tore at her clothes, roughly bringing the shirt off her head and unclasping her bra, revealing her to him. Sakura went limp for the time being, knowing he was going to have his way with her anyways.

It occurred to her that she could fight back, but she knew it would only make things worse. Then again, if she could get free, perhaps she could escape to Izuna's room. He would know what to do.

Her eyes wandered over to the door adjoining their room to Izuna's. She didn't notice Madara's eyes following hers until he said, "Don't even think about it."

Madara undid the button to her jeans and she abruptly sat up, looking him in the eye. She could tell he was not pleased with her for doing so, but it didn't stop her. "Why? Why are you doing this? Please, tell me why…" Sakura was on the verge of breaking down and she was sure she could hold it in much longer.

"Sakura, I'm going to tell you this once," Madara said. For a second she thought maybe he was answering her. "Lay down and cooperate, or I will find ways to punish you that you couldn't even dream of."

Body trembling, Sakura laid back down and no longer fought the tears streaming from her eyes. She repressed the sobs in her chest but the tears would not hide anymore. She closed her eyes to stop the horrifying pictures from entering her mind and she waited.

At last her jeans came off and her panties soon followed. Sakura shivered at the cool air around her and let the tears continue to fall as Madara relieved himself of his slacks and boxers. He spread her legs open and Sakura tensed.

"Plea-" she started to say, but it was abruptly cut off by lips on hers and his hard member being thrust inside of her. She cried out in pain into his mouth and he kissed her more deeply.

Sakura was not wet and on top of that, scared, so the entire experience was agony. He thrust in and out of her, and the friction caused made her feel raw and sore. He moved quickly, grunting occasionally, and Sakura simply cried. Why was he doing this to her? Why her?

Finally, when he came, Madara let himself soften within her, keeping in the semen as long as possible. Then, he rolled off of her and pulled her sobbing form into his arms, resting his chin on her head.

Despite that she was in his arms and knew he wouldn't like her protecting herself from him, Sakura curled into a ball like a fetus and continued to cry. Madara stroked her arm softly, as though that was supposed to comfort her, and Sakura simply sobbed weakly, dampening the comforter with her tears.

It was then that she realized just how miserable this vacation would be.

* * *

**Like I said. Depressing.**


	13. The Eavesdropper

**So, this is an incredibly altering chapter. I hope you all enjoy it!**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Izuna was no fool and when the three of them met up outside their rooms to go to lunch, he could feel a deep sadness and distress coming from Sakura. She didn't say a word to him, not even in greeting, and he assumed they had a fight.

However, he couldn't help but notice the awkward way Sakura's footsteps hit the ground, as though something were in between her legs and she couldn't get it out. That, coupled with Madara's satisfied aura and Sakura's deep grief, brought an unbidden thought to his mind.

Izuna quickly shoved the thought away, unwilling to think that his brother would do such a thing. Yes, Madara had very…interesting ways of showing affection, but he would _never_ do anything like the thought that Izuna had just had. He felt guilty immediately for thinking such things.

Lunch went by without a hitch. Madara spoke to Izuna haltingly and in short pieces, but Sakura said nothing the entire time, eating quietly but mostly picking at her food, if the constant scraping of her fork against her plate was any indication. He was stunned by her silence. She usually spoke, if he could remember correctly. No, he hadn't experienced her to speak much, but still, she was never this…silent.

That, coupled with her oppressed, strained aura, really made him want to speak with her privately. As in, with Madara nowhere in sight. For some reason, Izuna felt strangely angry at his brother for making Sakura feel this way. It wasn't right…he hadn't known her long, and he honestly didn't know much about her, but Sakura seemed to exude some kind of innocence and light to her, a like a flame that had no intention of burning anything or anyone around it. When Madara had described her to him, Madara had honestly seemed as though he was falling in love. Izuna recalled the words Madara had said. They had been foreign words, things that had never come out of his mouth before.

"_She's different, Izuna,"_ he had said. _"This woman…I want to marry her."_

Izuna remembered his complete shock when his brother, who had adamantly refused settling down for at least a decade, had suddenly come out with this. Izuna had, however, noticed that for the past few weeks before he even knew of Sakura's existence, Madara had seemed different.

He had been happy, it seemed, and not so easy to fall into one of his silent, brooding moods. He hadn't seen Miya but once, which Izuna had found strange, as Miya was usually over at least three times a week. Izuna liked the woman; she was very polite and kind and seemed to like him well enough, but he knew from the way Madara spoke of her, albeit very rarely, that she was nothing but a passing interest.

"_I cannot say I've seen someone like her before,"_ Madara had confessed about Sakura. Izuna remembered that as the first time Madara had ever seemed vulnerable since they were children. It was not something that even he, his brother, was accustomed to. He had seen Madara vulnerable once, and that had been when he was fourteen. Izuna had been six at the time. He never wanted to remember that moment ever again. _"She's not what I usually…pursue."_ His brother's voice went quiet. _"But she's beautiful."_

Izuna had never seen Sakura and never would see Sakura, but he could acknowledge that she had a very special aura about her. Her voice _was_ beautiful, however, and her scent was sweet and, if he had met her as anyone other than the girl his brother wanted to marry, he would have said her scent was delicious.

But he knew he couldn't touch her. He could never betray his brother like that, any of his own feelings be damned. Madara had already been hurt so badly, and now Izuna couldn't bring himself to hurt him again.

However, the thought he'd had earlier appeared in his mind, unwanted. What if Madara wasn't treating her right? What if he was…

Izuna couldn't bring himself to think it. Madara was cut off from outward emotions, and rightfully so, but there were some things he could bring himself to accept. He found himself thinking that if Madara was hurting Sakura, he would find a way to save her.

Then he realized it wasn't Sakura he was really saving. He knew Madara cared deeply for Sakura, and it was the first time Madara had started to display actual affection for someone.

No, it wasn't Sakura he would be saving Madara from.

Izuna would be saving his brother from himself.

* * *

Madara watched Sakura quietly eat her food. His patience was wearing thin. This act of brokenness was, simply put, pathetic. He knew he had hurt her, but he _knew_ he hadn't broken her. She was too strong to break from something as ordinary as sex.

So he watched her pitiful attitude and grew angry. He knew she hadn't enjoyed it, but it hadn't been about enjoyment that time. It was about making sure that she got the message that she was with _him_ and _not his brother_. Yes, the secondary purpose was to make sure she was impregnated, but despite what she might have thought, he had not enjoyed himself. It wasn't because her body had been any less pleasing, because it hadn't been, although she'd been particularly tight and completely dry. Rather, it was the tears that had streamed down her cheeks. He hated seeing her cry so much that he had closed his eyes and blocked out the sight before him, forcing himself to enjoy it given the fact that hurting her would have been pointless if he didn't ejaculate. Yes, initially he had been angry, but he hadn't hit her, hadn't caused her any physical harm. He didn't want to hurt her; she just seemed incapable of realizing that she was his and there were no two ways about it.

Finally, once the bill was paid, they stood and left, leaving one of the resort's more classy bistros. Sakura would glance at him occasionally, but then look away from him as fast as she had looked.

It made him feel uneasy, and he didn't like her making him feel like that. She needed to be strong, damnit, and stop this whole 'Pity Me' act. It was annoying and it did not suit her.

Izuna was walked slightly ahead of them with his cane and said suddenly, in a bright voice, "Cheer up, Sakura. It's a beautiful day." He was obviously commenting on how the sun was shining so brightly, as Madara knew that Izuna only knew it was beautiful because of the warmth of the sun's rays on his skin and the cool but not quite uncomfortable breeze.

Madara had to agree. He looked over to Sakura for her reaction. It was not what he expected, nor what he wanted to hear.

"Maybe for you it is."

It was said so quietly, without any sarcasm or anger attached, that Madara actually felt his normally impenetrable heart crack, just a bit, at the listlessness in her words. Anger replaced the pain that brought immediately.

It didn't take much to connect the dots. She'd been so happy when she'd first gotten here, with the lotus blooms and the resort, and then she'd been taken by Madara. Now here she was, unhappy.

He was genuinely at a loss of what to do. He had only told her that she was his and now she was dejected and pretending that she was broken. Uchiha Madara always had answers, but for once, he didn't.

"Izuna," he said firmly. "I would like to speak to you privately."

Sakura visibly stiffened, and then her eyes grew even more dejected. He had to resist glowering at her. What did she think she was going to gain, pulling this ridiculous act? How could she be so intelligent and yet so naïve?

Izuna turned in the direction of Madara's voice and nodded. "Of course, aniki. Would you like to go to my room? I'm sure Sakura could use a nap. She's obviously tired."

Madara replied in affirmation, wondering how the ever-perceptive Izuna could not feel Sakura's pity party. He said nothing about it, though, and they returned to their rooms, Sakura left in Madara's alone.

Izuna felt his way over to his bed and took a seat. "So, what would you like to talk about, aniki?"

Madara took in his brother's calm appearance and sat down in the reclining chair near the TV provided. "Sakura."

"What about her?" Izuna asked when he didn't further elaborate.

Madara thought about the past few days and suddenly the image of Izuna receiving a willing kiss from Sakura arrived to the forefront of his mind. He resisted the urge to grit his teeth and Madara knew _that_ issue would have to be resolved before moving forward. "Izuna, do you have feelings for her?" he asked stoically.

Izuna sat silently for a moment, and Madara knew that his brother would always answer him honestly. "Yes, I believe I do." Madara immediately stiffened. He had known it; he knew his brother would betray him. When someone as precious and beautiful as Sakura was involved, there was no such thing as loyalty. His anger soared, but before he could speak, Izuna continued. "But not in the way you're thinking right now, aniki. Sakura-san is a special woman, and I feel protective of her. She is sweet and kind, and seems like a normally happy person in general, if her aura does not lie, but more and more often I am finding myself sensing that she is sad about something."

Madara did not find much relief from that sentence; it was like jumping from the frying pan into the fire.

"And why do you think she is sad?" Madara asked, his voice as emotionless as a brick wall. He had a sinking, dark feeling that he knew why she was sad, and he wanted to know if his brother could hopefully negate his theory.

At this, Izuna paused for a long time. When he finally spoke, if Madara had been any less attentive, he would have forgotten his question. "I think there is something lacking in your relationship with her."

Madara growled, low in his throat. It wasn't what he wanted to hear, but it wasn't completely bad, either.

"And what might that be?"

* * *

Sakura was beside herself with sorrow. She sat on the bed, far away as she could be from the spot where she'd been raped, and cried silently. The depth of her sorrow was so great that she paid no attention to her surroundings, her senses shutting down almost completely. All she could feel was the hotness of her tears and the trembling of her body; all she could see was the insides of her tightly closed eyes, all she could smell was the saltiness of her crying and the lingering scent of sex in the room,; all she could hear was-

"_Do _not_ bring that up, Izuna!"_ Madara's harsh growl pierced through the wall.

Sakura's eyes shot open in terror, but she reminded herself that Madara was in another room. However, when the talking continued and she couldn't understand it, she felt curiosity overtake her. Hesitantly, she stood up and all but crept over to the adjoining doors.

"_Aniki,"_ Izuna was saying soothingly. _"I'm sorry, but I thought that if-"_

"_If what? If you brought up the fact that I couldn't save okaasan from that bastard it would explain something?"_ Madara sounded furious. Sakura had never heard him this furious, not in all the time she'd known him, and he'd gotten angry at her quite a few times in that short period.

Sakura stiffened. What were they talking about?

"_Aniki, you know it wasn't your fault! I don't know why you keep blaming yourself!"_

There was a tense silence.

Sakura felt almost intrusive, eavesdropping like this, but there was no way she was going to back out of it now. Was there maybe a reason Madara was so heartless? That he couldn't see the pain he caused her?

Suddenly, Madara spoke. _"Don't say that, Izuna,"_ he said, but there was something different in his voice. Sakura couldn't even distinguish was it was, as it was a tone of voice she couldn't fathom hearing from him. _"I couldn't save mother. And I couldn't save _you."

"_Madara,"_ Izuna said, and it was the first time Sakura ever called Madara by his first name. She had also never heard him speak so sternly before. _"It wasn't your fault. You couldn't stop him." _Madara's voice came, but before anything intelligible came out, Izuna continued. _"I don't care how skilled you were. The dojo would never have taught you to deal with…him."_

Had somebody hurt them? Hurt their mother? Sakura couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"_You know it was, Izuna."_ His voice was cold once more. _"If had known earlier what he was doing to you…"_

"_You didn't,"_ Izuna said firmly. _"And the past is the past. You killed him in the end, didn't you? You saved us from it."_

"_But I couldn't save okaasan."_ It was as Madara said this that Sakura realized what the emotion in his voice was.

Pain.

And not just pain, but a deep, throbbing, mind-crushing agony.

"_Aniki,"_ Izuna was now gentle, _"How do you expect to show Sakura your love if you can't leave the past where it needs to be?"_ Sakura froze. _Love? What love?_

"_She's so much like her,"_ Madara said. The brokenness in his voice would not go away, and Sakura found that even in her hatred for him, she wanted that pain to go away. It didn't suit Madara to sound like this. He sounded so…hurt. Madara was impenetrable, Madara was like the general who everyone answered to and never questioned. Nobody questioned Madara, not even himself. _"She's intelligent, and she has the fiery spirit, the belligerence, the independence…everything that okaasan had."_

Sakura was in shock. He thought these things about her? He related her to his mother? _He loved her?_

Madara continued on. _"Izuna, I _know_ I love her,"_ his voice was strengthening again, but not hardening. _"But she will never love me back."_

"_Why not?"_ Izuna asked, his voice genuinely curious.

"_Because I have hurt her." _Sakura could have laughed hysterically at the epic understatement

"_Everybody hurts everyone else, that's part of-"_

"_She thinks I raped her."_

Sakura had never thought he would ever admit it. Suddenly, in a very twisted way, she felt bad for having any sort of feeling for Izuna. Madara obviously trusted Izuna implicitly, and this showed just how close they were. She would hate to be the person that destroyed their sacred familial relationship.

No, she just had to get out of Madara's grasp, and all would be well.

"_She _thinks?"

Sakura could not very well listen to the story of his taking her virginity, so she leaned back against the wall and sighed, trying to process everything that had happened.

Her ears kept up picking out tidbits, as she felt there was more to the conversation that she felt almost entitled to hear. She had never thought that he thought well of her. In a way, she had almost thought he hated her.

"_-and I don't want to be like him."_

"_Aniki,"_ Izuna said sadly. _"You will only be like him if you don't stop. I know…I know that if otosan had ever apologized to me for what he did…and never did it again…I would have slowly begun to forgive him. But there are some things that will never happen…and some things that can."_

Had…had Izuna's father raped him?

Sakura felt an aching pain in her chest and she truly knew she shouldn't have listened. She should have heard these things first from Izuna, not from eavesdropping.

The conversation progressed and Sakura paid no attention, until she suddenly heard her name. _"-Sakura is so much like okaasan, then why don't you treat her like to treated okaasan?"_

There was a long silence to that one, before Madara replied, _"I don't know, Izuna. I don't know."_

There was another long silence, and Sakura thought maybe she should move away from the place she'd been sitting in case the conversation was finished.

Her downfall was that she forgot what she eavesdropping through was a door and not a wall, and so just as she was getting up it opened, revealing Madara.

When he realized, at lightning speed, that Sakura had been eavesdropping, his eyes turned deadly and frigid.

Sakura simply froze, unable to move.

* * *

**Yes, I did it. I somehow managed to give Madara a reason for his coldness.**

**And I'm sorry, IzuSaku fans, but that's probably not happening in this story. He'll remain an important character though!**


	14. The Unexpected

**Hey everyone. New chapter. I think the chapter title says everything...**

**Well maybe it doesn't. So I'll just say it right now.**

**I'm evil.**

* * *

There was a long, taught silence. Sakura stared at Madara like a deer in the headlights, unable to move away from him or his gaze. She ignored the aching in her legs from being in a half-sitting, half-getting up position and spent her time praying, praying, _praying_ to Kami that this would not end as horribly as she thought it might.

However, Madara simply locked gazes with her, not saying a word, which scared her even more than if he had started yelling.

"Have her come in, aniki. She was obviously listening, so we should talk about it like civilized adults."

Izuna's voice shattered the reverie of terror and anger and Sakura glanced at Izuna, who was on his bed, sitting comfortably. However, despite his pleasant words, he did not look pleased. He didn't look as pissed off as he could have, but he was certainly not happy with the realization.

How did he even know she was here? He couldn't see, so…

"I am so sorry, Izuna-san! I will never do it again, I promise." She looked up at Madara with pleading eyes. "I'm sorry," she whispered. "I promise. It was stupid and it was dumb and I-"

One look shut her up. Madara said no words of either forgiveness or anger, though. His face morphed back into an emotionless mask just before he grabbed her nearest arm and yanked her into the room, only carefully enough so that she didn't hurt herself or fall. Gentle was not a word to describe Madara's handling of her by any means, but he ensured that she didn't bang her head against any walls and didn't throw her on the ground either, as she would have imagined he'd do. He wordlessly motioned for her to sit down on the floor and she did so, terrified into obedience and grateful he hadn't hurt her…yet. Now she wasn't so sure she'd have Izuna's protection.

He moved to sit in a plush reclining chair and they sat in silence, Sakura watching them with careful eyes. Izuna stared off into nothingness and Madara had closed his eyes and was taking deep, steady breaths of air.

"Do you want to be here, Sakura-san?" Izuna suddenly asked.

"I'm sorry," she said quickly. "I'm really, really sorry-"

"I don't mean that, Sakura-san. I mean, do you want to be in this situation with my aniki?"

Sakura could never remember being more terrified of being on the spotlight than she was. She couldn't find the words, even though her mind was screaming at her to tell the truth.

"Izuna, I hope you know what you're doing," Madara growled irritably. As frightening as it was, Sakura was almost relieved to hear Madara no longer had that broken tone to his voice. He seemed to have returned to his normal self.

"I do, aniki. Sakura-san?"

Swallowing her fear, Sakura shook her head, only to realize that Izuna wouldn't see it. "No…" she said, trying to appear strong but her voice trembled. "I do not want to be here."

She couldn't look at Madara for fear of the expression on his face.

"Aniki, I think you should take Sakura-san back to Tokyo."

Sakura's stomach plummeted in fear for Izuna and yet her heart skyrocketed with hope. Was she finally going to get out of this? Would she finally be alright?

"I am not paying for a plane ticket for her to get back home," Madara said, his voice low and angry. "And I am not going to trust her alone on those…trains."

If Sakura didn't know better, she would have thought Madara almost sounded protective of her. Then, thinking about the conversation that she had just eavesdropped on, maybe she didn't know him as well as she thought.

"I understand," Izuna said simply. "But in that case, shouldn't she have her own room?" Before Madara could object Izuna said, "If possible, it can be as near ours as need be.

Sakura, hope soaring, spoke up. "I've been using the buses and trains all my life. I know how to handle them."

Madara turned a ferocious gaze on her but surprising even herself, she didn't flinch.

"I can handle myself," she said, speaking directly to Madara. She pulled a wry face. "I'm _poor_, remember?"

Shockingly, he scoffed but looked away.

"Then perhaps it is time you go home, Sakura-san." Izuna continued.

"Are-are you serious?" she said, trying to not let her eagerness show but failing miserably.

"Yes," Izuna said firmly. "You can go home today, if you please."

"Oh, Kami," she breathed out, not quite ready to believe this but willing to take a chance in her desperation. "Thank you."

There was a long silence in which no one said anything before Izuna spoke again. "Well, get your bag, Sakura-san. We'll call a cab to get you to the train station. Do try and be safe."

Sakura glanced at the unusually silent Madara and saw that he was still not looking at her. Instead, he was watching Izuna like a hawk. "O-okay," she said. She was a little uneasy that this had happened so quickly, so easily. It actually made her feel a little lost.

She stood and went to grab her bags. Through the open door she heard no noise at all except a phone being dialed and then Izuna's voice on the phone. Sakura assumed Madara had dialed and Izuna was talking.

With shaking, trembling hands, she gathered her things. This was terrifying. Was this what Izuna meant when he said he'd protect someone? Had it truly been for her? She felt touched at this overwhelming kindness. Pulling her suitcase, she walked through the adjoining door. Izuna was just finishing up the call as she arrived.

"Sakura-san," Izuna said when she arrived. "Do you mind if we trade numbers? I would like to be able to contact you via phone and vice versa should you need anything."

Bewildered, Sakura nodded. "Sure," she said weakly, and then remembered that Madara had returned her phone to her before they left, but with the battery taken out. She looked at Madara fearfully and he rolled his eyes before standing and walking away.

"What's your number, Sakura-san?" he asked. She paused when he made no motion to write anything down or even pull out his phone. Izuna seemed to notice her hesitation because he said, "I have a brilliant memory, Sakura. Besides, you'll have my number either way."

Sakura knew that, but she highly doubted she'd be calling him unless in the direst of emergencies. She was still flustered and embarrassed at being caught in the act of eavesdropping, especially on such a sensitive subject.

Madara returned and placed the phone battery in her hand. He hadn't said another word since his input on her going home, and Sakura was glad for it. There was still a chance this could all be ruined.

However, that did not happen. They walked her to the resort's entrance, where a cab was parked and waiting.

Sakura knew that this was the last time she'd ever see them, so with a bright and happy heart, Sakura gave Izuna a hug and whispered in his ear, '_Thank you_.'

She then turned to Madara. He was watching her, eyes completely masked. She nodded at him, not willing to touch him with a ten foot pole after what she'd been through with him, and said, "Goodbye, Uchiha-sama." She bowed as politely but as minimally as she could and then turned on her heel and left.

* * *

The trip back to Tokyo was uneventful. There were no predators that Madara could have possibly have 'protected' her from. Feeling lighter than a feather at the new and sudden revelation, she realized as she stepped off the train at her final destination that she was truly free. She would never have to deal with Madara ever again, and while she would fondly remember Izuna, that was all in the past.

A memory. A terrible, horrifying, agonizing memory that she could now forget. She wouldn't have to dwell on it; Sakura knew that now that it was totally gone, out of her life, that she would be able to move on. For some reason, it felt more like a dream than anything…well, a nightmare really. But it was a nightmare she could cope with, a nightmare she could now wake up from and say _'I will never let it happen to me, ever again.'_

And with her determination and strength, she knew that she could vouch that this would be true.

* * *

Returning to school wasn't as difficult as she'd imagined. She fell back into daily routine easily, as the hiccup had only lasted just under a month. After a few weeks back at school, talking to Ino again was no longer stressful; she'd managed to play everything off as a dumb prank. She'd told her parents she had been fired, to which they had been sympathetic, even though they were increasingly busy with work and keeping up the household. She'd been successfully terminated from her employer, but had heard nothing from Madara or Izuna. Izuna's number was still saved in her phone, just in case, but even then she really didn't know why she still kept it there. It was only a reminder that the nightmare had been real. Perhaps it was because, in a strange way, Izuna had been her light in the foggy darkness. He had saved her from everything, everything that could have happened.

She'd mailed the ring back to Madara's office, feeling bad for keeping such an expensive thing that she was never going to wear. She didn't have the heart to throw it out, of course; despite her hatred for Madara, she knew in the end that money was money and that ring had cost _a lot_ of it. So she sent it back to him. That last little form of communication had been her way of truly saying goodbye, letting him know she was past it everything…and had even forgiven him.

Forgotten, no. Forgiven, yes.

There were still days at school when Sakura would doze off in the middle of a particularly boring lecture—typically in Law & Economics, where she'd initially met him—and recall that last conversation she'd overheard between Izuna and Madara. Madara had claimed that he loved her; Sakura knew that he felt nothing of the sort. Perhaps in his disturbed mind it was, but to any sane human being, it wasn't. She would doze off and wonder what had happened exactly in their very sick family, whether their father had actually killed their mother, or had Madara really killed his father. Had Izuna really been raped by their father? Was that why Madara was so cold and evil?

And then the bell would ring, she'd be jostled from her thoughts, and soon she'd be outside talking with Ino amicably as though everything were fine.

Sometimes, she would truly feel happy. The happiness, the innocence, the hope of youth; she could feel it and embrace it. Her smiles would radiate and her very being would glow, for that was what Madara had gifted her with; understanding the happiness behind true freedom. He hadn't meant to, but he had given her that.

And then sometimes, she would feel as though the mask was slipping; the happiness, the innocence, the hope of youth; she could feel the enormity of how much she'd lost that in the few weeks knowing Madara. She could feel how she meshed with the crowd but never felt _one_ with the crowd. Her schoolmates, even Ino, were oblivious to the fact that the happiness they unknowingly walked upon was a very thin tightrope and that if they were pushed in any one direction too far, they would plummet and land where she herself had fallen.

She wished that upon no one, so she kept her bad days to herself. She knew them the moment she woke up in the morning, what kind of day it would be. If it was a good one, she embraced it and tried to absorb all the warmth and happiness she could, basking in it like rays of sunlight. If it was a bad one, she would fasten on the mask that much tighter and continue about her day, occasionally checking in the mirror and practicing her smiles when no one was looking.

It was a better existence than she could have ever hoped for after meeting Madara…but that didn't mean it was a good one.

That morning, almost a month after being free from Madara, as Sakura groggily awoke from her sleep, she was hit with a terrible wave of nausea that overwhelmed her being. Unceremoniously, she rolled over and vomited on her bed, still half-asleep up until the point where last night's dinner exited her.

Sakura sat up straight with a ramrod back, turning to face her upturned dinner so as to assess how to clean it up when another wave of nausea hit her and she vomited again. She kept heaving and retching until she was sure that yesterday's lunch had joined her dinner, or at least what was left of it.

"Okaasan!" she called with a raspy voice. When there was no reply, Sakura realized her mother must have gone to work. Cursing, she moved to get up and then _yet another_ wave of nausea hit her.

Great. She had a stomach virus.

As she finally got up, she prompted a rational outlook. First things first. She went to the bathroom and brushed her teeth, gargling well, and drank a bit of water afterwards in an attempt to soothe her stomach.

Vaguely, she wondered if she'd heard anything about a bug going around school, but as she was unable to remember, she paid it no mind. Sakura picked up her phone and dialed Ino's number.

"What's up, forehead?" asked Ino. "You need a ride to school?"

"No, actually," Sakura said, clearing her throat. She'd only brushed her teeth and drank some water to sound less gross, but even something as innocent as water in her stomach was not sitting particularly well.

"Well, what's up?"

"I think I might have the flu…" Sakura raised a hand to her head and, feeling no fever, continued, "Or some kind of virus."

"Aww, Sak! Of course you would get sick in time for it!" Ino sounded disappointed and almost angry.

"And what would 'it' be?" Sakura asked dryly.

"Your _birthday,_ forehead!"

Sakura froze. Seriously? She turned over to her calendar and checked. Yup, right there. Four days from now, on a Saturday.

Ino continued talking. "Well, I'm sure you'll get better between then and now. And since you asked-"

"Which I didn't."

"-Kiba's throwing you a birthday party at his place!"

Sakura wanted to laugh and bounce up and down in happiness and excitement, but her body seemed to relate any physical movement containing energy to be vomit-worthy. So she settled. "Really? Are you serious?"

"I swear, dog-boy doesn't know how to take 'no' for an answer."

Sakura still liked Kiba, but she had been unable to get involved with anybody. Even at this point, she was afraid of a hidden Madara hiding behind any guy's face, waiting to catch her unsuspecting. She knew she would have to wait on romance, but that didn't mean she didn't _like_ Kiba. It just meant he couldn't come within two feet of her.

Well, that certainly constituted the verbal signals of not liking someone…but…

"No! No! This is great!" Sakura said, and the energy she put in her words, letting out her excitement, promptly had her staggering over to the toilet and vomiting into it.

"Whoa, forehead…are you okay?" Ino seemed to grasp how sick Sakura truly was.

Coughing, Sakura nodded. "I'm sick, but I'll be okay," she said, having kept the phone against her ear during that time.

"Just listening to you makes me feel like _I'm_ gonna be sick. I have to go to school, forehead. I'm guessing you want me to pick up your assignments?"

"Please," Sakura said, feeling another urge to vomit coming.

"Alright, I'll do that for-"

Ino hung up, and if her best friend had started vomit over the phone as she was speaking, Sakura would have done so, too.

* * *

**Poor girl's got a stomach bug just before her birthday. What rotten luck.**

**If I could type a winky face, I would, except my keyboard hates me, so the zero, hyphen, and question mark keys don't work. What's a girl to do...**


	15. The Broken

**Long-ish chapter here. It's a little rushed in my opinion, but I like it nonetheless. It will be important for the story.**

**Enjoy!**

**Note (4/13/13): Some very kind people notified me that I wrote Izuna as not blind here. There have been edits to correct that, and the story has been fixed accordingly. For the reminder, Izuna IS blind. Nothing has changed there.**

**Thanks to everyone who has reviewed and for the people who alerted me to my errors, you have a special thank-you.**

* * *

Three days later, Sakura felt no better than she had—in fact, she felt like her symptoms were getting worse. So, using some of the money she'd saved up working for Madara, she made a doctor's appointment. If the virus hadn't gone away by now, perhaps it was something else, and she wanted to do her best to be ready for her birthday party the next night.

She'd taken the bus mid-afternoon, as it seemed that the symptoms lessened during that time. By night she would be feeling alright, but the next morning it would return as though it had never gone away. Her mother had urged her to go get seen, and Sakura hadn't complained. Her twentieth birthday party would not be missed for the world.

She had already peed in a cup, which was the usual standard upon entry for girls of menstruating age. It made her feel somewhat nervous, peeing the cup; it was like some forbidden thought was trying to surface but couldn't. She'd also gotten her temperature checked and vitals taken. Her temperature was a very healthy 98.4 and they had told her that her vitals were all normal.

So here she was, sitting on the patient table feelings like an idiot as she described her symptoms to a very kind-looking old man, probably in his late sixties or early seventies. This was his clinic and he charged almost nothing compared to other doctors in her area.

"And how long ago did you say this started?" he asked.

"Only three days ago." Sakura was sure she'd told him that already.

"Your last period?"

Sakura reddened slightly, having a bad internal feeling. It seemed the forbidden thought was niggling its way to the surface… "Uh…I think it was two months ago," she said hesitantly.

"And when was the last time you had sexual intercourse?"

Sakura's heart stopped beating and she froze like a deer in the headlights. The thought surfaced and suddenly, this all made too much sense.

No.

NO.

"About a month, maybe a month and a half ago…" she said, words sounding hollow even to her own ears.

There was a quiet knocking on the door. "One minute, Haruno-san. I'll be right back."

Sakura was left there to sit quietly and pray that what she was thinking _wasn't_ what was happening. Tears were surfacing, threatening to spill out over her cheeks. How could she not have known? Had she blocked the experience out so fully that she had completely forgotten _why_ he'd raped her!

The doctor came in again. "Haruno-san, do you live alone?" he asked. He was holding a small rectangular piece of paper in his hands.

The change of topic relieved her. Maybe it was just a virus. "No, I live with my parents."

"Then you may want to call them," the doctor said. Somehow he caught the fact that his news wasn't going to please her and he told her, "Haruno-san, you're pregnant."

When she simply stared at him in shock, he looked at her sadly and continued.

"Do you know who the father is?"

"Yes," she said numbly, not thinking about it.

"Is he your significant other? I'm sure he will want to know about-"

"I'm sure that bastard will!" she cried, curling into herself and beginning to sob terribly. The doctor, seemingly practiced at this sort of thing, went over to the visitor's chair and sat down, patting her back.

"It was an accident," the doctor said reassuringly. "But I'm sure he'll come to accept it with time."

Sobbing, Sakura bit out, "Oh, he'll accept it." She could feel the awkwardness coming the doctor and she sat up with great effort, wiping her eyes. "I'm sorry, doctor. I'll just pay and get going."

The doctor looked at her with kind, nonjudgmental eyes. "You don't have to pay this time, Haruno-san. Just make sure to keep yourself and the baby healthy, and find an OBGYN as soon as possible." He handed her a few pamphlets on first-time mothers and pregnancy on their way out the door.

She was touched by and horrified at the doctor's words. She was grateful that she didn't have to pay, and touched that he cared about her and her baby's life.

What horrified her was that her natural instinct was to begin to list the most renowned OBGYN's in Japan she could think of in her head to choose from instead of ask where the nearest abortion clinic was. She'd jumped to _taking care of_ the life Madara had forcefully instilled upon her body instead of killing it.

And yet, the very thought of killing her baby made her ill. She knew now that she was in the situation she couldn't do it, despite the reason for the baby's existence, and she would never understand those who could. She was sure that everybody had their reasons, but there would never be a reason great enough to kill her baby.

Because it was _her_ baby, _not_ Madara's. He might be the father, but he would never raise the child or call it his.

But oh, would he pay for the bills…

If Sakura could ever be grateful that Madara had money, this was the one time that she was. Reaching into her phone, she dialed Izuna, suddenly grateful that she'd kept his number. It wouldn't have done to just show up at their house when Madara was possibly home.

"Hello?" came Izuna's voice over the phone.

"Izuna-san, it's me. I need to see you right away. _Alone._"

* * *

Madara had been having a particularly bad day at the office, as Hashirama kept bothering him about menial, _trivial_ things that really _didn't_ need attention. If he didn't know better, Madara would have said Hashirama was attempting to make his bad mood _worse_. To top that off, he'd just lost a case, which was incredibly rare, and Tobirama had, for some reason, been very pleased and told him exactly how pleased he was in a note left on his desk.

And he did not appreciate that.

So he'd headed downstairs to the indoor gym they had. Madara often used the gym, not only to keep in shape but because these days, he had _a lot_ of anger to vent.

Anger at these absolutely idiotic people who paid him to defend their cases.

Anger at the moronic fools he worked with.

Anger about losing the only woman he'd ever loved.

Anger about Izuna helping her escape.

Anger at _everything going so wrong_.

So he took his anger out on the punching bag downstairs, hitting it with fervor and making it creak and flap in the wind with his punches, as though it wasn't one hundred pounds of sand in a bag.

And he stayed like that, in his gym clothes—or more like shorts, he didn't wear a shirt in the gym—until his phone rang. Izuna had a separate ringtone from his other callers. However, Madara had been avoiding his brother as of late. The fact that he'd lost Sakura because of his brother still wasn't sitting well with him.

Izuna called two more times past the missed call and then had sent two text messages, before Madara finally resigned that it _might_ be something important. Wiping his sweaty hands on the rag, he checked the text messages first, wondering if he could skip the phone call.

Nothing. Just an address, texted twice.

He finally dialed Izuna back and demanded shortly, "What."

"I think you might be pleased with a new occurrence, aniki," Izuna said. If the humble man had ever sounded smug, this was the moment.

"And what might that be?" Madara quipped, his annoyance leaking out. He wiped his face with the rag in his hand and noticed how sore the skin around his knuckles was. Perhaps he'd overdone it…At least the skin hadn't broken. That was all he cared about.

"Have you been working out? You're breathing heavy."

"No, I'm fucking a random woman in my office," Madara snapped. "Get to the goddamned point."

Izuna seemed to realize that Madara wasn't feel playful—and yet still ignored it—because he finally said, "I told you so."

"Izuna, I swear to the fucking gods almighty if you do not tell me-"

"_I told you not to call him, Izuna-san!"_ came a very angry feminine voice over the phone.

But it wasn't just any feminine voice.

It was Sakura's.

"I was just going to tell him the news," Izuna said innocently. "Unless you want to tell him yourself?"

"_Not particularly."_

"I think you should tell him anyways."

"_No."_

"Izuna, put me on speaker," Madara growled, inwardly feeling a peace and joy he had never felt before upon hearing her voice and then another part of him angry and sulking because she didn't want to speak to him.

"Will do, aniki."

"Izuna-san, what are you doing!" demanded Sakura over the phone, obviously not knowing it was on speaker yet.

"I muted him, Sakura-san. He can't hear you. I think we should collect our thoughts."

Madara could almost imagine Sakura's glare at Izuna over the phone. It seemed she was back to her old self, and he found that strangely refreshing. Maybe the distance _had_ helped her grow strong again. Izuna had told him she would come back on her own. Madara hadn't believed him, of course, and he was definitely still wary of this phone conversation.

"Well, I need him to know only as much as he has to in order to get the bills paid," Sakura said slowly. "Of course he needs to know that he can't see it, and I certainly won't let him anywhere _near it_…"

Madara was outwardly stoic as he changed back into a casual change of clothes—after he'd checked, he'd seen that Izuna's texts were duplicate addresses to a café nearby his office , after towel-drying his body and spraying on some cologne—but he was inwardly reeling with curiosity as to what Sakura might be saying. He was, suspicious, of the way she talked about bills. Why would he be paying for something couldn't see or be around?

"Sakura-san, are you sure that's fair? He _is_ the-"

"There shouldn't be a problem," she interrupted him. "The only thing he needs to know is that I'm pregnant and he's footing the bill."

Madara's heart stopped. He was…he was a father?

He immediately chastised himself. There was no need to be surprised. Of course he'd be the father, he'd had sex with her and he was the only person she'd ever had sex with.

It wasn't so much the fact that he was _the_ father as much as _a_ father. Unknowingly, he checked out with Risa at the front desk and hurried down to the parking garage where his car was. He needed to get there fast enough so that she wouldn't disappear before she got there.

A father.

He was going to be a father.

To his great surprise, the thought of having a real family with Sakura and _their _children brought a wave of joy in him that he couldn't describe with words.

Hanging up the phone, he drove as quickly as he could to his destination.

* * *

"Did he just hang up?" Sakura asked as the phone bleeped and Izuna pocketed it.

"I suppose he did. Must have gotten busy with work."

Sakura took on a faux-wounded expression. "And there I thought me and the baby were important."

Izuna, not impressed with her theatrics, said, "You are."

"Uh-huh. That's why he hung up." Sakura rolled her eyes and glanced down at her half-eaten pastry and the cup of jasmine tea steaming next to it.

"Sakura-san, please don't assume things you don't know."

She looked at him warily. "What am I assuming, exactly?"

"That he doesn't care about you. He _does_. He just doesn't know how to show it."

"Yeah, that's why he raped me. To show me his 'love'." Sakura scoffed, lowering her tone when she talked about the taboo subject.

"You have to understand. To him it wasn't rape," Izuna said, defending Madara. Sakura frowned.

"But to me it was. I'm kind of the one who gets to decide, right?" she asked bitterly.

"Sakura-san…if he had thought of it as rape, he would not have done it."

"But then, no man would, would they?"

"Sakura, please understand. My aniki is cold, but he is not cruel and he does love you. I'm not asking you to love him back. Just understand that."

Sakura moved to nibble her pastry, ignoring what Izuna had said. Well, _he_ thought she was ignoring him.

She wasn't; she was trying to fight the emotions swirling around in her. The fear, the sadness, the longing…all for a life that could have been so different.

Even though she was adamant about Madara never knowing the child as its father, she was a little concerned about how this was going to play out smoothly. Her parents, being rather traditional, would want her to marry him. She'd have to tell them why she didn't want to—because he'd raped her. They'd want to press charges. She would not. Ino would be furious at her friend and she would be the shame of the school.

Sakura didn't really want to deal with all that. She wanted to hide away, experience her pregnancy without any external stressors, and avoid all these meddlesome people who would complicate things. She really just wanted to hide away from the world.

But she didn't know how she could.

"Izuna-san?" she said suddenly.

"Yes, Sakura-san?"

"As much as I love my friends and family, I don't want to deal with them," she confessed. "My parents are going to want me to marry _him,_ and I'm going to have to tell them the truth so they'll get off my back. Then they'll want to press charges with money we don't have, and it's going to be a terrible fiasco. My friends will all be ashamed of me…I don't know what to do. I just want to go hide in a corner until the baby is born. Maybe for a long time after that. Maybe forever."

Izuna looked thoughtful for a few moments, then said, "I know how to help you with that, but you're not going to like it."

"Let me hear it anyways."

"If you become an Uchiha-" he raised his hand to stop her from interrupting, "-then you will have the clan's protection. Anyone who wants to see you that you don't want to see can be taken away. You can live in your own home and raise your baby. He or she can be homeschooled. There's a lot of money in the Uchiha clan, and there will be a lot of support from other mothers, too. Once you're a part of the clan, they won't care that you weren't originally a part of it. A long time ago, they would have cared, but now, with so many members marrying outside the clan, we've basically assimilated others and treated them like our own. Especially because of _who_ you will be married to, you'll be very respected. No one will care about your age because a lot of Uchiha marry early. Actually, many of the Uchiha have been pestering my aniki to get married, so you'll be accepted like the sun on a cloudy day." Izuna smiled. "I can talk to my brother about getting you your own home so that you can live alone unless you wish someone else to help you. The possibilities are endless, Sakura-san, if you marry my aniki."

Sakura sat there, heart pounding in her chest. She wanted it _so_ badly. What he had just offered, if it were true, would be exactly what she wanted, if not for the Madara part. How could she marry him after all she'd been through with him?

Then again, she could make it so that the marriage was only in title and not in action. And then, when the baby was old enough, she could divorce him.

Suddenly, it didn't seem so bad. She could always divorce him after the baby was in school. Then…then she'd be free, and she'd have her baby, too.

"I-I don't know," she said weakly. "It's very tempting. But he would have to know that it's only in title, and I won't actually want to be around him."

"That can be arranged," came a new voice.

Sakura stiffened before whirling around. "When did you get here?" she snarled.

Madara looked at her impassively, almost seeming amused by her reaction. "A while ago. You should learn to pay attention."

"Bastard…" she grumbled, remembering that she had to _somewhat_ stay on his good side if the bills were to be paid for.

"Glad to know it," he said calmly, taking a seat next to her and across from Izuna. "Thank you for briefing her, Izuna."

"You're welcome, aniki."

Sakura suddenly stiffened. "And just how long have you been listening?" she asked coldly.

"Since I found out that I was to be a father," Madara said calmly. Sakura had the definite suspicion that they were hiding something.

"And when would that have been?" she insisted, trying to decide what the secret was.

"Are you asking me to quote your entire conversation?" he asked mildly, but it was mocking in nature. "Even I am not that talented."

Sakura rolled her eyes and glared at the ground. "Even you? Since when are you such a hotshot?"

"I think you fail to understand how powerful I am in Tokyo and surrounding areas, or have you forgotten?"

"You are so arrogant! You need to be on the receiving end of a few hard knocks to the head!"

"And of course, you would expect me to simply play along with your childish antics?"

"They're not childish! You seriously need to be put in your place!"

"Of course they're childish. Only children-"

"Would argue like you two are," Izuna inserted firmly. However, he was smiling contentedly. Both Madara and Sakura glared at him simultaneously for the insult. "Already squabbling like a married couple. I'm pleased."

Madara sat back and looked smug, but Sakura spluttered, "No way! We are _not_ fighting like a married couple! That's the last thing-"

"Enough, Sakura."

At Madara's hard but strangely warm voice, Sakura was rendered speechless. She looked at him hard, letting all the hatred she bore for him show in her green orbs, and was met with a calm acceptance. Not quite remorse, but an acceptance that he knew he had done wrong.

This truly halted her and she looked away. For some reason, the resignation in his eyes made her feel…strange. There was no other way to describe it. Strange.

A sudden, unwanted, unbidden thought passed through her mind.

_Am I strong enough to forgive him?_

It was obliterated the moment she realized she had thought it. She tugged at the feelings of hatred, pain, anger, and resentment, trying to bring them to the surface to remind her why she hated him. They seemed to have frozen, unwilling to return.

_You don't need to forget to forgive._

Stupid thoughts! She chided herself. The entire table was quiet, save for Izuna, who was humming a light tune. Madara had taken to checking his phone.

Was it possible to forgive Madara? She thought back to all the times she'd dealt with flashbacks from Madara's treatment of her. She'd vomited, the emotions in her body too deep to contain, and her body had expelled everything not physically attached to it, as though trying to expel the emotions themselves.

She knew that if she held onto the emotions, she would continue to fight that for the rest of her life.

But it was too soon! She couldn't just let him off the hook so easily. He didn't _deserve_ forgiveness. He was a monster. He didn't love her; he just wanted what he wanted and took it.

_But how will he repent if he's never given the chance?_

He didn't deserve to repent! Why should he have peace when she didn't?

She tentatively glanced at him from the corner of her eye. As his thumb scrolled over the phone's touchscreen surface, she noticed that he didn't look all that affected. He didn't seem to be harboring any hatred or anger or pain. He _was_ at peace.

_You're the only one who's not._

Sakura felt tears surface in her eyes. Why was _she_ the one who had to forgive? Why did she have to bear this pain? Why? _Why?_

"Izuna-san, I'm afraid I have to go," Sakura said shakily, fighting to keep the tears from falling by blinking her eyes continually.

"Are you alright, Sakura-san?" he asked softly. She felt Madara's scrutinizing eyes on her, but she couldn't look at him right now. It would bring forth the tears that she was fighting so hard.

"I'm fine. I will call you when I make my decision."

Izuna nodded, and she heard Madara stand.

"No," she said, not facing him. "I have to go."

And then she fled.

* * *

"Let her go," Izuna said softly. "You can't push her too far at this point."

Madara slumped, the change only visible to those who knew him.

They sat in silence, Madara ordering a green tea, and then continued to sit in silence.

"I upset her," Madara finally said. He tried to fight the guilt that would happily reach his voice with permission.

"I don't know," Izuna said. "Her aura felt distant. It's like she wasn't here."

"I hate seeing her in pain."

Izuna raised an eyebrow, but Madara couldn't bring himself to look at his brother.

"I _know_ I hurt her. I thought it would get better if she understood, but it didn't. She only broke further."

"Sakura isn't delicate, but I think you overestimated how much the human psyche could take in your obsession. You were selfish," Izuna said gently.

"I know! For the love of Kami, I know!" he said, anguish breaking his voice. "I don't even know how to fix it!"

"You can't do it easily," Izuna replied. "You have to make a living amends. The amends of living differently. Show her you're a different person; show her who you really are. Get her to trust you, and you need to trust her yourself. This is something not easily done in the position you are in. You have to prove that you have changed—or rather, that you are not the person you displayed to her in your obsession."

"How does one even go about doing that?" Madara demanded in frustration.

"By being yourself?" Izuna said questioningly. "If you were truly a different person in your obsession—which I know you were—then you must simply not allow yourself to return to the patterns of you obsession."

Madara regarded Izuna warily, and was about to speak when Madara's phone went off. Notably, he didn't recognize the phone number.

Tucking it between his shoulder and his ear, Madara answered, "Uchiha Madara speaking."

"Uchiha-sama! This is Lieutenant Toboka, I have urgent news for you! Netsuki Goboro escaped his waiting cell, he's killed three officers and he's after you!"

Madara nodded. This was the man whose case he had lost earlier. Things like this weren't a first-time occurrence. "What are his whereabouts?"

The police officer rattled off the general area he might be; probably near his office. "Are you in your office?"

"Not at the moment," Madara replied calmly.

"Oh, good. Well, we'll keep you updated with his-"

"Madara!" Izuna suddenly cried at him.

Madara looked up sharply. He was holding his phone out to him and the line that was read was from Haruno Sakura.

"Someone wants to talk to you. He's on Sakura's phone."

Madara's blood ran cold.

"Lieutenant Toboka, I want to you meet me at Unmei Café near my office. Now."

Madara hung up before the lieutenant could respond and Madara took the phone from Izuna.

"Who is this and why are you on Sakura's phone?"

"Heheh…saw her walking away from your table…pretty little thing, huh? Hehehe…"

"Goboro, don't hurt her," Madara said, ice flowing through his veins. This could not be happening.

_No. No!_

"But would you be willing to trade your life for hers?" The deranged man cackled and suddenly he heard Sakura scream in the background.

"I swear to Kami, if you hurt her you will wish you had never been-"

"So she's special to you? Hehehehe…this will be interesting…"

"Where are you?" Madara demanded.

"You'll just have to hope you find her before her time runs out, huh?"

Madara was already standing, motioning to Izuna to stay. "Where. Are. You."

"Where death toys with life…what a strange game fate plays…"

The phone turned off just as Sakura started to scream again.

* * *

**I guess the reason I think it feels rushed is because so much happens in one chapter. Normally I would divvy it up but I really feel like it's all one chapter anyways. So...yeah. I guess let me know what you think. I would love to hear your opinions...specifically, if it does feel rushed, what feels rushed about it?**

**Or you can just tell me how awesome of a writer I am...NOT! LOL Sorry, I couldn't restrain myself.**

**Have a beautiful evening, everyone.**

**Cheers!**

**~Of Broken Love~**


	16. A Change of Pace

Hey everyone!

Yes, this is the dreaded author's note update. Because of problems with FanFiction and my overall rebellious hatred of all things moderated, I am moving my current stories to a blog I have recently created SPECIFICALLY for my fanfiction. Here, I will post (and continue) all the stories I intend to continue, as well as new ones. So far, a revamped Chapter One of Modus Operandi is posted. I will be updating as soon as possible. The Kill is also on my intended to update list.

You can find more information on the site!

The domain is ofbrokenloveofficialwebsite . com. Hope you all visit and leave me lots of comments!

Cheers!

~Of Broken Love~


	17. PLEASE HELP OUR FF AUTHORS!

I have written this PM to an author who has wronged many people on FF .net. It is my hope that everyone who reads this will spread the word in any way they can. If you do not know who this is, please look at her profile as soon as possible. You will see the horrors I am speaking of in my letter. No one has the right to be cruel to others like this. She is a cyber bully and needs to be stopped. Please post this wherever you can. I am going to apply this to all of my stories, so if you receive this once, please don't worry about the rest.

* * *

Dear Concilliabule,

I want to politely ask you to remove all of the horrible things you have said about other people on your account. I don't care what you do with what you do with your correspondence with me, but I am truly disgusted by your cruelty. Make fun of me all you want, claim whatever you wish about me, but your actions have to stop. You are terrorizing people with your cruel words and your atrocious attitude. Nobody wants someone like you on this site. You are only mean to people from what I can see. I truly apologize if what I have written offends you, but what you are doing is MORALLY WRONG. I don't know if you were raised with a religion. If you are, I plead with you to think about what you are doing and remove your content from your profile page. If you are not, please understand that you are HURTING people and that what you are doing is WRONG. Your opinion is important, but not to the point of scorning other people. You are not god, Concilliabule, but you are acting like it. I myself do not wish you removed from this site, but if that's what needs to happen, I will pursue that length to greatest of my ability. Please stop terrorizing people, Concilliabule. It is not fair to them and it looks terrible on you.

If I do not see your content removed in three days, I am going to take the highest action possible to removing your account. Please consider this and reconsider your cruel actions. You have hurt enough budding authors and I do not wish to see you do it any longer.

Thank you for your time,  
Of Broken Love

* * *

It is my hope to start a petition. As stated, I have requested her to remove the heinous content from her profile in three days of receiving this. It is currently 9:00 CST on July 31st, 2013. On August 4th (I am trying to give her as much time as possible) I will submit a petition to the FanFiction . net owners requesting her to be removed on the accounts of CyberBullying and general atrocious behavior towards other authors. If you are interested in signing this petition, please PM me, stating your username and why you would like her removed.

Thank for your time.

Of Broken Love


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